London, Jul 10 (IANS): "Thank you & goodbye", says the last edition of the News of the World that was published Sunday. The 168-year-old tabloid shut down following a phone-hacking scandal in Britain.
Editor Colin Myler led out the more than 200 staff from the newspaper building in Wapping, east London, late Saturday.
"This is not where we want to be and not where we deserve to be," Myler was quoted as saying by BBC.
Myler held up the 8,674th and final edition of the newspaper outside the office, and said: "As a final tribute to seven-and-a-half million readers, this is for you - and for the staff, thank you."
"Now, in the best traditions of Fleet Street, we are going to the pub," he added.
The tabloid is accused of hacking into phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians. Police have identified 4,000 possible targets.
In January 2007, royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were both jailed for plotting to intercept voicemail messages.
The newspaper also offered an apology in a full-page editorial.
"Quite simply, we lost our way," it said.
"We praised high standards, we demanded high standards but, as we are now only too painfully aware, for a period of a few years up to 2006 some who worked for us, or in our name, fell shamefully short of those standards."
"Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry."
"There is no justification for this appalling wrongdoing. No justification for the pain caused to victims, nor for the deep stain it has left on a great history."
"Yet when this outrage has been atoned, we hope history will eventually judge us on all our years," the editorial said.
The tabloid's owner Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to arrive in Britain to take charge of handling the phone-hacking crisis.
The newspaper doubled Sunday's print to five million, with money from the sales to be donated to four charities.
Former editor Andy Coulson - also a former aide of Prime Minister David Cameron - was arrested Friday over the allegations of phone hacking.