Around 60 staff at NI Free Newspapers, its free newspaper subsidiary, are affected by the proposed closure.

Thelondonpaper, which had a circulation of 500,348 in its July ABCs and was printed at News International owned Broxbourne, recorded a pre-tax loss of £12.9 million in the year to 29 June 2008 on a turnover of £14.1 million.

James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia for News Corporation, News International's parent company said: "The strategy at News International over the past 18 months has been to streamline our operations and focus investment on our core titles.

"The team at Thelondonpaper has made great strides in a short space of time with innovative design and a fresh approach but the performance of the business in a difficult free evening newspaper sector has fallen short of expectations. We have taken a tough decision that reflects our priorities as a business."