Embattled News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has resigned amid growing political and commercial pressure over the phone-hacking scandal.
Mrs Brooks admitted she had become a "focal point of the debate" and had to quit to avoid distracting attention from her company's efforts to "fix the problems of the past".
Her resignation comes despite her boss Rupert Murdoch describing her as his first priority when he flew to London on Sunday to take charge of the crisis in his media empire.
The former Sun and News Of The World (NOTW) editor, 43, said she was "sorry for what we now know to have taken place".
Mrs Brooks had come under increasing pressure since allegations emerged that the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was hacked by the NOTW while she was at the helm in 2002.
She denies any knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing.
The hacking claims have been centred on the Sunday tabloid, which was published by News International (NI), and police say around 4,000 people could have been victims.
Sky's political editor Adam Boulton said of Mrs Brooks' resignation: "It doesn't change any of News Corp's legal problems.
"It's probably too late for the sacrifices - last week the NOTW and today Rebekah Brooks - to stop any of the inquiries: the criminal inquiries, the public inquiries or the investigations in the United States.
"There is a danger that the feeding frenzy moves on and with Rebekah Brooks having fallen there will be a public mood examining the role of James Murdoch at BSkyB or at News International, or indeed Rupert Murdoch himself.
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