Sun sets for editor as Murdoch rings changes
He will be replaced by Rebekah Wade, the current editor of The Sun's sister paper the News of the World, from today.
Staff were informed of Mr Yelland's departure in an email at lunchtime yesterday.
Mr Yelland will be staying within the company to pursue a management role. He will also attend a business school in the United States, a company spokeswoman said.
According to sources, Mr Yelland's departure may have been down to proprietor Rupert Murdoch deciding it was simply "time for a change".
When Mr Yelland was appointed editor he was charged with taking the paper upmarket.v
Mr Yelland was largely an unknown quantity when he took the role in June 1998. "Shy" and "quiet" were among the words chosen by former colleagues to describe him.
The young, prematurely balding journalist had joined The Sun in the early 1990s as a city reporter after training on local and regional papers.
He quickly moved up to city editor and soon had the ear of Rupert Murdoch, thanks largely to his insight into business affairs.
Mr Yelland then became the paper's New York reporter but was said to have been unremarkable in the demanding role.
His next move though to Mr Murdoch's New York Post would have been crucial in eventually helping secure the top job at The Sun.
As deputy editor of the Post he was involved with the paper's subtle shift upmarket.
He has scored some important scoops, most notably breaking the story of Prince Edward's and Ms Rhys-Jones's engagement.
And Mr Yelland has steadfastly clung to The Sun's most hotly-disputed selling point, the Page Three Girl.
Ms Wade, who once served as deputy to Mr Yelland at The Sun, will become the first female editor of the top-selling daily.
She is seen to be more pro-Labour than Mr Yelland and so may find it easier to fit in with the Sun's editorial direction.
Wade, 34, is married to TV actor Ross Kemp, better known as former Eastender Grant Mitchell.
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