Rebekah Brooks finally quits over scandal

The resignation was also days after the last appearance of the News of the World, the tabloid at the centre of the fast-moving scandal. Hundreds of staff who lost their jobs when it closed were angry that she had apparently survived the backlash.

The former Sun and News of the World editor announced she was standing down in an internal email to staff at the company, which also publishes The Times and Sunday Times

Ms Brooks, 43, said she quit to avoid distracting attention from News International's efforts to "fix the problems of the past".

She became a focus for criticism of the company's journalistic practices after it emerged that the News of the World hacked into murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone while she was editor of the Sunday tabloid.

Ms Brooks' message read: "At News International we pride ourselves on setting the news agenda for the right reasons. Today we are leading the news for the wrong ones.

"The reputation of the company we love so much, as well as the press freedoms we value so highly, are all at risk.

"As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place.

"I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past.

"Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.

"Rupert's wisdom, kindness and incisive advice has guided me throughout my career and James is an inspirational leader who has shown me great loyalty and friendship.

"I would like to thank them both for their support. I have worked here for 22 years and I know it to be part of the finest media company in the world.

"News International is full of talented, professional and honourable people. I am proud to have been part of the team and lucky to know so many brilliant journalists and media executives.

"I leave with the happiest of memories and an abundance of friends. As you can imagine recent times have been tough. I now need to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive.

"My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations and the CMS appearance.

"I am so grateful for all the messages of support. I have nothing but overwhelming respect for you and our millions of readers. I wish every one of you all the best."

Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant, who has been a leading critic over the phone-hacking scandal, said Ms Brooks should have left before.

"I think it is right that she goes. I think she should have gone a very long time ago," he told Sky News. "Frankly, she should have gone when she said she had paid police officers for information back in 2003."

He added: "I thought it was disgraceful when the newspaper last week was closed as a way of trying to protect Rebekah Brooks and then Mr Murdoch saying that she was his priority. It felt like those in the boiler room were carrying the can for those who were really at the helm of the ship."

Following Ms Brooks' resignation, News International named Tom Mockridge as her successor. Mr Mockridge joins News International from Sky Italia where he has been chief executive officer since launch in 2003. He was also chief executive of European Television for News Corporation, overseeing its operations in Europe, outside of the UK.

Her resignation comes despite Mr Murdoch describing her as his first priority when he flew into London on Sunday to take charge of the crisis engulfing his media empire.

Ms Brooks first offered her resignation to the Murdochs last week as News International took the decision to axe the News of the World, it is understood.

Prime Minister David Cameron said last week that he would have have accepted her resignation if it was up to him. "It has been reported that she offered her resignation over this and in this situation I would have taken it," he said.

News Corporation's chief executive in Europe James Murdoch sent the following message to News International staff:

"Earlier today, Rebekah Brooks resigned from her position as CEO. I understand her decision and I want to thank her for her 22 years of service to the company. She has been one of the outstanding editors of her generation and she can be proud of many accomplishments as an executive. We support her as she takes this step to clear her name."

He added: "This weekend, News International will run advertisements in all national newspapers. We will apologise to the nation for what has happened. We will follow this up in the future with communications about the actions we have taken to address the wrongdoing that occurred.

"We are also sending letters to our commercial partners with an update on the actions we are taking. Next week, my father and I will appear before the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee and will speak to them directly about our determination to put things right.

"The company has made mistakes. It is not only receiving appropriate scrutiny, but is also responding to unfair attacks by setting the record straight.
I would like to conclude by saying thank you. Throughout this time, you have gotten out great papers every day and have stayed focused. I am deeply grateful for that."

Meanwhile, a defiant Rupert Murdoch has said he will challenge the "total lies" issued about his News Corporation media empire in the phone hacking scandal when he appears before MPs next week.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, Rupert Murdoch said he wanted to address "some of the things that have been said in Parliament, some of which are total lies".

He added: "We think it's important to absolutely establish our integrity in the eyes of the public ... I felt that it's best just to be as transparent as possible."

Despite the massive outcry over the allegations centring on the now defunct News of the World, Mr Murdoch insisted News Corp had handled the crisis "extremely well in every possible way", making just "minor mistakes". "When I hear something going wrong, I insist on it being put right," he said.

He said that the company would now establish an independent committee, headed by a "distinguished non-employee" to investigate all charges of improper conduct.

However the pressure intensified with the disclosure that the FBI has opened an inquiry into claims that News Corp journalists sought to hack the phones of the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Congressman Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee who asked the FBI to investigate, said it was the "American dimension" of the phone hacking scandal.
"This could be a criminal matter. The FBI handles criminal investigations," he said.

In his interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr Murdoch also hit back at Gordon Brown over claims that the News International papers, including The Sunday Times, had illegally obtained information about him and his family.

He said the former prime minister "got it entirely wrong", adding that "the Browns were always friends of ours" until The Sun withdrew its support for Labour before the last election.

He also dismissed claims that News Corp was considering selling or separating off its newspaper assets as "pure and total rubbish".

Meanwhile Scotland Yard was also under pressure to explain how it came to employ a former News of the World journalist arrested in the phone hacking investigation as a PR consultant.

Neil Wallis, 60, who was deputy editor under Andy Coulson's editorship, was detained in a dawn raid on his west London home and questioned for several hours at Hammersmith police station.

While he was being held the Yard was forced to admit that it had paid him £24,000 to work as a two-day-a-month public relations consultant. His contract was cancelled less than six months before the Operation Weeting investigation into phone hacking was launched.

Home Secretary Theresa May fired off a letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson demanding an explanation.

Sir Paul was also summoned for what was described as a "very frank discussion" with London Mayor Boris Johnson lasting almost an hour and a half. The commissioner will now give evidence to the Commons Home Affairs Committee - which is looking at the police investigation - on the same day as the Murdochs appear.

Profiile: Rebekah Brooks

She devoted more than half her life to serving the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire.

And she weathered a mounting storm in the last 10 days as the phone-hacking scandal rocked the company to its foundations.

But with her appearance alongside her boss before a committee of MPs just days away, she finally threw in the towel.

The 43-year-old's flair for tabloid journalism and dedication to the firm earned her the position of chief executive, as well as a place in the affections of the boss.

He regarded her highly and stood by her even as the calls for her to go became a chorus and former allies began urging her to go. As the maelstrom swirled around her last weekend, Rupert Murdoch was still standing by her.

After arriving in the UK to handle the crisis, he was asked what his priority was. "This one", he replied, gesturing at her and smiling.

The phone-hacking revelations that finally ended her time at Wapping dogged her tenure in the top job from the start. But she was no stranger to controversy.

While editor of the News of the World, Ms Brooks, nee Wade, launched a "naming and shaming" campaign identifying paedophiles following the murder of schoolgirl Sarah Payne.

The campaign boosted circulation and eventually led to new legislation - known as Sarah's Law - but was blamed by some for sparking vigilantism and even thwarting police investigations.

Tony Butler, the then chief constable of Gloucestershire, criticised what he claimed was "grossly irresponsible" journalism.

Away from the day job, an intriguing private life also saw Ms Brooks thrust briefly into the kind of limelight normally reserved for the subjects of a tabloid exclusive.

While married to former EastEnders actor Ross Kemp, she was arrested, but later released without charge, over claims that she had attacked him. She dismissed the incident as a row that got out of hand.

The couple divorced and in 2009 she married former racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks.
Renowned as a formidable networker, she was close to Tony Blair and is said to have enjoyed horse-riding in Oxfordshire with Prime Minister David Cameron.

An enigmatic figure, she actively avoided media interviews and adopted the same approach when MPs came calling with an invitation to appear before them in 2009 during an inquiry into phone hacking.

Such was the power she wielded, MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee let the matter drop on that occasion, rather than use parliamentary powers to force her to attend, according to an ex-member.

Former Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price claimed MPs feared their own private lives would be investigated if they pursued the request. That apparent fear disappeared this week when the same committee summoned her, her boss and his son James to appear before them next Tuesday.

Born on May 27 1968, Ms Brooks grew up in Warrington, Cheshire, before heading off to Paris for a stint studying at the Sorbonne. Returning to her home county, she landed a job as a secretary at Eddie Shah's Messenger Group and soon persuaded those in charge to let her loose reporting.

She then got a job working on the News of the World's Sunday magazine. Her passion for News International was ignited and she remained at the Murdoch stable.

Sent to the Sun in 1998, two years later she landed the top job at the News of the World aged just 31.

In 2003 she became the first woman to edit the Sun and in 2009 was appointed chief executive of News International.

Mr Murdoch has spoken of her in the past in glowing terms, hailing her as a "great campaigning editor who has worked her way up through the company with an energy and enthusiasm that reflects true passion for newspapers and an understanding of the crucial contribution that independent journalism makes to society".

Her devotion to his empire was illustrated when she spoke to a departing journalist. "Why on earth did you leave News International?" she asked.