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thelondonpaper is the trading name of a free newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International (who also own the companies which publish The Sun and The Times). It has been available from Monday to Friday each week in Central London since September 4, 2006.

The paper is the first newspaper to be published in direct competition with the Evening Standard since 1987 and Robert Maxwell's short-lived London Daily News. It is also the first newspaper to be launched by News International; its other titles were bought many years after initial publication.

The week before thelondonpaper was first published, Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Evening Standard, re-branded their existing free lunchtime newspaper Standard Lite to London Lite and changed the publishing time to include the evening rush-hour, a move that has been widely seen as a 'spoiler' to protect against the launch of thelondonpaper.

The paper is targeted towards young readers, with emphasis on celebrity and more light hearted news, little analysis of news stories and uses lots of images and color. As a consequence of the launch of thelondonpaper as well as Associated Newspaper's own London Lite, the Evening Standard has attempted to go more upmarket, emphasising the difference between the free newspapers and itself by adding the tagline "The Quality Newspaper" across the top of the front page.

It currently holds the contract for evening free distribution in London National Rail stations, meaning it can be picked up at the same locations as Metro in the mornings. It was also believed to be bidding for the larger contract to distribute free newspapers at London Underground stations on weekday afternoons. However Transport for London have since announced that the contract has been withdrawn after no acceptable bids were received.

• thelondonpaper.com Official website for thelondonpaper.
• London's free newspapers revealed This Is Local London