NOTW denies 'email deletion' claims

The company that owns News of the World, News International, is denying claims that police are investigating the suspected deletion of emails by an executive at the company.

The news comes after the Labour Party in the UK called for the immediate appointment of a judge to head the phone-hacking inquiry, so that evidence is not destroyed.

Staff at the News of the World are this afternoon putting the finishing touches to the paper's last ever edition, due out tomorrow.

The News of the World newsroom will become a designated crime scene when staff leave the building for the final time today.

Three men arrested yesterday have all been released on bail.

The British Shadow Culture Secretary Ivan Lewis said it was vital to immediately appoint a judge to head up this inquiry.

"It's vitally important that emails and documents are secured and the only way to oversee that is by the immediate appointment of a judge," he said.