Daily Mail owner to launch new Sunday tabloid?

The owner of the Daily Mail is reportedly planning to launch a new mass-market Sunday tabloid.

Daily Mail & General Trust could start publishing the newspaper as early as next week to cash in on the closure of the News of the World, Reuters reports.

An internal dummy run is planned for this Sunday, with possible names for the paper including The Sunday and The Sunday Lite. Former Sun columnist Kelvin MacKenzie, who joined the Daily Mail last month, is tipped to be a columnist for the new launch.

DMGT's existing Sunday paper The Mail on Sunday will increase its print run this weekend, alongside the Sunday Mirror, the People and the Daily Star Sunday - which is increasing its print run by 1.2m and including a new magazine, OK! Extra.

Meanwhile, News International is said to be planning The Sun on Sunday to replace the News of the World, which could launch as soon as August.

Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks recently resigned from her position as chief executive of News International following the phone hacking scandal.