The Sun to scrap internet paywall, Rebekah Brooks tells staff

The move was announced by Rebekah Brooks, the News UK chief executive in an email to staff and will be implemented at the end of November

Rebekah Brooks, News UK’s chief executive, is reported to have told staff about the change in an email (Getty Images)

The Sun has abandoned its paywall just two years after it was introduced, blaming low web traffic.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid is seeking to compete with online rivals in the free advertising market such as the Mail Online, the Guardian has reported.

The Sun introduced an online subscription of £2 a week in 2013 and started with 225,000 users, following its Murdoch sister papers the Times and the Sunday Times.

However, it has been increasingly overshadowed by the Mail Online, which has become the most visited English-language newspaper website in the world. More than 11 million people visited the Mail Online in November 2014, according to the National Readership Survey.

The move was announced by Rebekah Brooks, the News UK chief executive, on Friday morning will be implemented at the end of November, according to the Guardian.

"I recently shared with you the future priorities for the company and am excited today to tell you more about our plans for the first of these: growing The Sun's audience. This will mean setting The Sun predominantly free in the digital world from November 30,” Rebekah Brooks, News UK’s chief executive, is reported to have told staff in an email.

The Guardian has claimed that the Sun had already relaxed the paywall on selected stories in July this year. Since then, the website has increased its average daily browser numbers to about 1 million.