LONDON: News International says that CEO Rebekah Brooks has resigned.

She is the most prominent victim so far of the UK tabloid journalism scandal racing through Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

The company confirmed that the Murdoch protege, who served as News International's chief executive, had handed in her resignation.

In a letter sent to staff, Brooks said she was leaving the company because her desire to stay on was putting the reputation of the company at risk.

She said ''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.''