News Of The World: The End Of An Era

When the News Of The World comes off the presses this evening it will mark the end of 168 years of sensational stories and scoops.

Looking back, the paper was responsible in part for bringing down governments.

The explosion of the Profumo Affair in 1963 was down to an exclusive interview published in the NOTW.

In it Christine Keeler confirmed an affair that a government minister had denied. The Macmillan government never recovered from the scandal.

Over 20 years later exposed politician Jeffrey Archer for attempting to buy silence from a prostitute.

The then deputy chairman of the Conservative Party resigned and the paper hounded him until he was sent to jail some years later.

More recently, it has also been a campaigning newspaper. Sarah's Law, which was masterminded by Rebekah Brooks when she was editor, gave parents access to information about paedophiles in their area.

Some sex offenders were mobbed as a direct result.

But now, the NOTW's spectacular fall from grace has prompted a call for change in how we hold our newspapers to account.

At the moment that's the job of the Press Complaints Commission, but this week there has been a clear indication that it's days could be numbered.

The Prime Minister has ordered an inquiry into ethics and culture of the press which perhaps signals a move away from the current system of self-regulation.

:: Rupert Murdoch has said the decision to close the News Of The World was "a collective decision", as staff at the Sunday tabloid prepared its last ever edition.

:: Sky News has obtained an audio recording of Rebekah Brooks talking to News Of The World staff where she was accused of "contaminating" the paper's journalists.