British tabloid The Sun will no longer feature topless page three girls

Britain's freewheeling tabloid has finally decided that it is time for its topless page three girls to cover up.

Reports that the newspaper would no longer feature bare-breasted women on its third page, ending a controversial tradition that has lasted decades, emerged yesterday.

, which like is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News UK, reported that last Friday's edition of the tabloid would be the last to feature a topless model. Page three has since gone four days nipple free.

reported that the newspaper had decided to replace topless photos with an image of a woman in a bra, citing people it didn't identify.

The four-decade old feature had long been criticised as sexist, and Murdoch himself expressed doubts about its place in modern newspapers last year.

"I think old fashioned but readers seem to disagree," Murdoch tweeted.

"Take The Bare Boobs Out Of The Sun", an online petition addressed to the newspaper's editor, David Dinsmore, has attracted more than 217,000 signatures.

had opted to introduce the change without fanfare, retaining the option to reverse the decision if sales of the 50-year-old publication dipped

Irish edition stopped using topless models in 2013.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Topless page 3 girls out at The Sun

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51ku6bD0miuqKqcmXyivtOimqWdX2aDeX%2BWbmlomqKewaq%2Fx2armpqcpLaledKupWavmaG5brrOZqOoppeav26yxJqrrqqVYsGwvMueqqxloJa0pnnToamenV2ctrO40g%3D%3D