In my last CEO Business Update in March, I was able to bring an exclusive story to you.

And I am delighted to write to you today with another digital scoop that should make us all celebrate. News International has always been at the forefront of innovation and leadership.

So, today we can celebrate the future as The Times and Sunday Times hit 100,000 digital subscribers just 12 months after we started to charge for premium digital content.

This is a fantastic achievement and we should all be very proud of our commitment to making it work. Many doubted if our digital strategy, which is still in its infancy, would be successful. Here is unequivocal proof that it is heading in right direction.

Since our last announcement in March, 22,000 more subscribers have signed up - a 28% increase.

iPad downloads of The Times and The Sunday Times are up 40% and 41%, respectively, across the same period.

And there are now more than 250,000 combined print and digital subscribers, up 22,000.

When we receive the June ABC figures in a few days time we will again see unprecedented year-on-year growth for The Times and The Sunday Times in paid-for sales, the industry metric of the future that combines total print and digital sales.

Across News International our business is out performing the market in the most testing of economic climates. We look on target to hit our budgeted profit for the financial year - a testament to everyone who works for us.

In the last Business Update I presented our three-year growth plan called Changing The Game. At the heart of that are the words: Invest. Innovate. Integrate.

My recent announcement of the new Managing Editor structure is a concrete example of that strategy in practice. We will streamline the business where there is common ground, leveraging synergies and sharing services to free up resources for investment in content. A seven-day operation will be a reality in some common areas.

As many of you will know, we have also spent considerable time and effort over the last few months examining our cost base.

Let me be absolutely clear: there are tough decisions coming. Costs will need to be cut and savings made in overheads and personnel. We will obviously consult with NISA on any proposed changes.

I won’t pretend that we do not face testing times ahead on other fronts as well.

In particular the criminal, civil and regulatory aspects of the unlawful voicemail interception issue at the News of the World, and other related subjects, will continue to challenge us as a company from a reputational and resource perspective.

As Chief Executive I am determined that NI is led in a way that deals with these matters properly. I want both external and internal acknowledgement that we have done the right thing - by facing up to our responsibilities where things have gone wrong and having done our utmost to correct them.

This is about actions not words and over the last year we have made significant progress in difficult circumstances. It was our voluntary disclosure in January that re-opened the police investigation and we continue to co-operate fully with the police.

In April, we admitted liability in a number of civil cases - an important step that has been well received generally and led to litigation becoming more manageable.

Last month we announced that the former High Court judge Sir Charles Gray had agreed to act as adjudicator in our Compensation Scheme. This should speed up many civil claims in an efficient and fair way, removing the need for prolonged and unnecessarily costly court action for all parties concerned.

But our proactive approach to civil litigation is just part of how we engage with these matters.

For some time now these issues have been managed within a different structure, which can now be formalised. A Management and Standards Committee comprising William Lewis (General Manager, News International), Simon Greenberg (Director of Corporate Affairs, News International) and Jeff Palker (News Corporation’s General Counsel, Europe and Asia) will continue to handle all such matters on a day-to-day basis. The committee reports directly to me.

We have also been working for some time with leading law firm Olswang to examine in great detail what we can learn from the past.

As a result of that on going examination, Olswang will recommend a series of policies, practices and systems to create a more robust governance, compliance and legal structure for our titles. We hope that, over time, this structure will become a standard for our industry.

We are committed to publishing both Olswang’s terms of reference and their final recommendations in full. Those recommendations will then be implemented, with our CFO, Susan Panuccio, playing a key role in this process.

I hope to announce further measures in the next few weeks to build on this progress, demonstrating how serious we are about putting past problems behind us.

Rest assured, though, we will always respect legitimate sources and personal, confidential information.

And we will not compromise what makes this company so great. We will continue to promote and invest in great content and investigative journalism across our four titles, in print and digital.

In the last year we have won more than 70 industry awards across every aspect of our business. The News of the World rightly won Scoop of the Year for the Pakistan cricket corruption scandal, while our digital products are now leading the way both editorially and commercially.

All this is down to our dedicated workforce. People are at the heart of NI and will always remain so.

Rebekah Brooks

Chief Executive Officer