The embattled British tabloid News of the World, one of the oldest and best-selling newspapers in Britain, will shut down after Sunday’s issue, its owner, News International, told CNN Thursday.

The dramatic announcement follows accusations that the paper illegally eavesdropped on the messages of murder and terror victims, politicians and celebrities.

The scandal “sullied” the newspaper and “has no place in our company,” News International Chairman James Murdoch said Thursday in announcing the shutdown.

And paying out-of-court settlements to some victims was “wrong and a matter of serious regret,” Murdoch said. He is a son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corp., which owns News International.

The 168-year-old newspaper, which sells more than 2.5 million copies every Sunday, was brought down by an avalanche of public and political fury in the wake of revelations that hacking victims included a missing 13-year-old girl who was later found to have been murdered.

On Wednesday, Rupert Murdoch himself called allegations against his flagship Sunday paper “deplorable and unacceptable.”

Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday called the possibility that the hacking had taken place “absolutely disgusting” and backed calls for an independent inquiry into the affair after a police investigation concludes.

Police launched a special investigation into the allegations of phone hacking on behalf of the newspaper in January of this year. It was the second police probe into the issue.

On Thursday, shortly before James Murdoch’s announcement, the police said they have identified the names of nearly 4,000 potential victims.

In addition to owning News of the World, News International owns the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times in Britain.

Murdoch’s News Corp. also encompasses Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Harper Collins publishers.

(Source: CNN)