NOTW Staff 'Being Treated Like Criminals'

Furious News Of The World staff working on a final tribute edition of the newspaper have discovered their internet and email access has been blocked.

"We're being treated like criminals," said one of the journalists, who added that security staff have also been positioned around the newsroom.

A News International spokeswoman confirmed to Sky News that staff are unable to access external websites or send out emails.

Earlier, one of the News Of The World's senior journalists spoke to Sky News about the moment James Murdoch told staff the paper was closing.

"Today is a very sad day for journalists.

The first we knew about it was when Rebekah Brooks and James Murdoch came to address staff flanked by two security guards.

There was an audible gasp and some people burst into tears.

Rebekah Brooks looked emotional - but so she should be. If she had done the honourable thing and quit we would all still have our jobs.

For the sake of one person, 500 people at the News Of The World have been sacrificed. Everyone is seething with anger.

Then Colin Myler told her to leave the News Of The World.

He spoke to us - he was shaking and watery-eyed. Apparently he had only found out 20 minutes earlier.

Loads of News of the World staff - male and female - were in tears.

People were just standing around and didn't know what to do. They were wandering round like zombies.

A while later, Colin did a Q&A with staff.

He told us there will be a 90-day consultation period and he will try to secure the best pay-offs for us.

He said we'll walk out the door as great journalists, we've done nothing wrong.

During Colin's meeting with staff, one person said that they've dropped a dress to save a stitch. Everyone thinks Rebekah Brooks is a ****.

I ended up going home and crying for 20 minutes. This is completely unlike me.

Afterwards we went out and got drunk. The staff at Fabulous magazine said they felt guilty to be there - they felt guilty to have jobs and some of them went home. But we're all in the same boat.

The atmosphere was world-weary and resigned. There was a lot of gallows humour too.

I was trying to have a laugh, but at the end of the day this is about my life.

There's a lot of very good journalists going begging today.

And, this is the saddest thing, there are 2.5 million people who aren't going to read a newspaper on a Sunday anymore.

They're not going to read the Mirror, they're not going to read the Mail on Sunday. That's sad for newspapers.

Who knows whether there will be a seven-day Sun operation. It wasn't really talked about - they just said there might be some integration.

The bosses don't even know what's going on. They've done this totally on the hoof.

It's stupid. Why don't they think about it and do it next week, with a contingency plan in place? It's ridiculous.

And even if the seven-day paper does happen, it's not going to involve many of us because they told us we're going to get paid off.

Some people will get eaten up by the Sunday Sun, but I don't want to be a part of it.

I certainly don't want to work for News International ever again.

I would like to speak out openly and in person, but I would like to get employed somewhere in the future so I can't be seen to be criticising the chief executive of my old company."

:: Read more reaction to the announcement from the worlds of politics, business and the media