The end of the News of the World - First reactions

I'm still coming to terms with the shock that this is the end of the News of the World.

One of my work colleagues gleefully announced the news to me this afternoon. Earlier in the week during a lively debate on this story, he politely made it clear to me his utter contempt he had for the News of the World and the fact that someone like me reads it. I've heard his arguments before, and didn't take any of it personally.

At first I thought he was joking, but after clicking onto the Guardian's website I soon found out it was no joke.

I said: "it's like the fall of Communism, but the equivalent for the British press"

I say this with only a slight sense of irony. It's unbelievable, and so unexpected, you never imagined something like this happening.

Only yesterday, I'd decided I wasn't going to buy the paper this Sunday, in protest against the latest allegations. Forget that, I'm definitely going to buy the last ever edition. It's the end for an iconic media and cultural brand in this country.

I'm going to write about this in more detail in the next few days, but whether you love or hate the News of the World, this is an historic and monumental day in the history of the British press.