The Sun covers them up, ending topless tradition

Britain's best-selling newspaper The Sun has quietly dropped photos of topless women from page 3, ending a controversial tradition that has lasted decades in a move hailed by feminist campaigners.
      
The Times, which like The Sun is owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News UK, reported on Tuesday that last Friday's edition of the tabloid would be the last to feature a topless model after 44 years.
      
"The Sun will no longer feature topless models on page 3," The Times said, adding that the change had been on the cards since billionaire Murdoch last year described the custom as "old fashioned".
      
The British tabloid, which has a circulation of 2.2 million, played down the story. Its head of public relations Dylan Sharpe described it as "speculation".
      
"The Sun hasn't said either way what's happening to page 3," he told AFP.
      
"There's no confirmation from The Sun," he said.
      
Tuesday's edition featured a photo of actresses in bikinis frolicking on a Dubai beach on page 3, while Monday's edition had a model in lingerie.
      
A tag line at the bottom of the page on Tuesday invited readers to view the online edition for topless photos of "Lucy from Warwick", implying that nudity may have shifted from print to the web.
      
The pin-ups have featured in the newspaper since 1970 when 20-year-old German model Stephanie Rahn became the first "Page 3 Girl" and the feature became something of an institution for nearly two generation of British males.
                      
The page, which launched the careers of models Samantha Fox in the 1980s and Katie Price in the 1990s, has also long been criticised as sexist.
      
An active petition to stop The...