The announcement by the chief executive of News Corporation, the parent company of The Times, comes after a public and media backlash against Fox and one of its publishing houses, HarperCollins, over the publication of If I Did It and a two-hour interview.

Anger from the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman was followed quickly by mutiny from several Fox affiliates, who refused to broadcast the interview.

Two of Fox News’s biggest stars also condemned the project as “garbage” and called for the book to be boycotted.

Mr Murdoch said last night that the decision to shelve the project was prompted by widespread viewer outrage. “I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” he said. “We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

The Goldman family last night welcomed the decision, but still wanted an explanation as to how the project had been conceived. “The Goldmans acknowledge that while News Corporation has now accepted responsibility for its deplorable decisions made in the past, it does not undo the damage to the families of the victims,” they said.

The Goldmans said last week that they would try to seize any payment that Mr Simpson received for the book deal.

If I Did It purports to tell the story of how Mr Simpson would have killed the pair if he were guilty — something that he has denied for more than a decade.

He was acquitted of the murders in a criminal court in 1994 but was found liable in a later civil case and ordered to pay $33.5 million (£18 million) in damages.

Judith Regan, the publisher of the book, who also conducted the interview, said that she was in no doubt that the book was Mr Simpson’s “confession”. It was promoted as “a bone-chilling account of the night of the murders”. Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, had accused Ms Regan of “promoting the wrongdoing of criminals” and commercialising abuse.

News of the book and interview brought immediate condemnation from the victims’ families, not just of Mr Simpson but also of News Corporation, with calls for a boycott.

The publishing industry joined in the condemnation. Some bookshops refused to stock the book while others said that they would donate their profits to charities for domestic violence victims.

Advertisers were reported to be avoiding slots during the scheduled broadcasts of the interview, on November 27 and 29, and then Fox affiliates across the country told the network that they would not carry the special.

Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera, two of Fox News’s stars, spoke out vehemently against the project, trying to disassociate their channel from the rest of the company.

“I’m not going to watch the Simpson show or even look at the book,” Mr O’Reilly said. “If any company sponsors the TV programme, I will not buy anything that company sells — ever.”

Mr Rivera called the book appalling. “I will bash this project every minute I have the opportunity to bash this project,” he said.

Mr Simpson’s book was due to be published on November 30 by ReganBooks, a division of HarperCollins. Unconfirmed reports have claimed that Mr Simpson would be paid $3.5 million (£1.85 million) as an advance for the book. Ms Regan said that the money was intended for his college-age children.

Orders for the book, which was due to be published on November 30, had been strong, but not sensational. It had reached the Top 20 on Amazon.com but subsequently fell back to 51st by the time that Mr Murdoch made his announcement.

$33.5M

The amount O. J. Simpson was ordered to pay the victims’ families in damages

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