Independent publishes final newspaper before going digital only

The Independent newspaper has printed its final paper edition.

Saturday sees the last copy of the daily hit the newsstands in paper format, as the title moves to a digital-only format.

The paper's last front page featured an exclusive story about a British connection in a plot to kill a Saudi King, and a striking image of train passengers being evacuated during an anti-terrorism operation in Brussels.

Inside the paper four special edition magazines look back at its history.

Journalists at the paper posted images from the newsroom of the final hours spent working on the daily.

The paper was established by a group of journalists led by Andreas Whittam Smith in 1986 under the slogan "It is. Are you?".

It enjoyed initial success rising to a circulation passing 400,000 by 1988, and claimed it was free from proprietorial influence.

But current paid circulation at the daily title is just over 40,000 while its sister paper, The Independent on Sunday, sells just under 43,000 copies.

The paper's owners, Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev, announced last month that the titles would drop their print editions.

The final edition of the Independent On Sunday - which launched in 1990, with Stephen Glover as editor - was published last weekend.

The newspaper's final editorial said "history will judge" its transition to online media as "an example for other newspapers around the world to follow".

It concludes: "Today the presses have stopped, the ink is dry and the paper will soon crinkle no more. But as one chapter closes, another opens, and the spirit of The Independent will flourish still.

"Our work goes on, our mission endures, the war still rages, and the dream of our founders shall never die."