The British press on Saturday carried full-page advertisements in which Rupert Murdoch apologized for "serious wrongdoing" over the phone-hacking scandal involving a newspaper in his media empire, DPA reported.
News of the World is alleged to have hacked into the phones of up to 4,000 people, including victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred," read the ad placed by News International, the British operation of Murdoch's News Corp. "We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out."
It was published in the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Financial Times and Sun and Times. The company said it planned to run a second advert in newspapers over the next two days that would outline steps it would take to investigate the case and prevent it from happening in future.
"The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account," the ad said. "It failed when it came to itself."
Its publication followed the resignation Friday of News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks after weeks of mounting pressure.
Brooks was editor of News of the World from 2000 to 2003 and is seen as a key figure in the phone-hacking scandal, which led to the closure of the newspaper Sunday.
Les Hinton, who headed News Corp's international unit when the hacking allegations emerged, has also resigned.
Murdoch, his son James and Brooks were due to appear next week before a parliamentary committee to give evidence over the case.
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