REBEKAH WADE will today become Editor of The Sun, the first female editor of the tabloid newspaper and also the first woman to edit a “red top” daily in modern times.

Ms Wade, who is 34, is a former deputy editor of The Sun, and is currently Editor of the News of the World.

For some time she has appeared to be the obvious heir to David Yelland, who has edited The Sun for five years. Mr Yelland resigned yesterday and is expected to study at the Harvard Business School before taking up a management job with The News Corporation, the parent company of The Sun, the News of the World and The Times.

Ms Wade’s two years in charge of the News of the World have been marked by widely publicised scoops, among them the sexual misdemeanours of the Have I Got News For You presenter Angus Deayton and Prince Harry’s dabbling in soft drugs and alcohol.

Considerable controversy has surrounded her “name and shame” campaign to expose paedophiles, which has been largely supported by News of the World readers but condemned by a number of politicans and lawyers.

Ms Wade, who is married to the EastEnders actor Ross Kemp, has combined an active social life in showbusiness and new Labour political circles.

She has not, however, given interviews or appeared on television or radio to defend her decisions and believes that her paper should do the talking for her. Her former boss and now intense rival Piers Morgan, the Editor of the Daily Mirror, described her yesterday as a great talent.

“She is formidable and has a natural tabloid instinct. She is more Sun than Mr Yelland ever was. He was too cerebral,” he said.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp, said: “Rebekah has proven her talent as a great campaigning editor. She has produced a popular, powerful, and often controversial News of the World. I am confident she will triumph again at The Sun.”

Ms Wade will take over a paper which at the end of the year had a circulation of 3.44 million, up 4.2 per cent on the year.

The circulation has been boosted by price cuts following a price war started by the Daily Mirror. During the year the Daily Mirror’s circulation fell by 0.74 per cent to 2.03 million.

Despite an obvious knack for creating noise and controversy she will have the difficult task of maintaining circulation when pricing levels return to normal.

Politically she is believed to be comfortable with The Sun’s present stance as a critical friend of new Labour combined with opposition to the euro. Ms Wade, who until recently chaired the Women in Journalism campaigning organisation, has never been an obvious believer in one of The Sun’s most popular institutions, the Page 3 Girl. However, Page 3 is unlikely to change.

A new Editor of the News of the World is expected to be appointed today.

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