Britain's first new daily national newspaper in nearly 25 years launched today.

The tabloid-format "i", which comes from the same stable as The Independent, costs 20p and is aimed at "time-poor newspaper readers".

With 56 pages, it pledges to "combine intelligence with brevity and depth with speed of reading".

The paper uses the same editorial staff as the Independent, which along with the London Evening Standard is owned by Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev.

Independent executive Andrew Mullins said: "Time-poor newspaper readers, and especially commuters, have been telling us for years that they are inundated with information and just don't have the time to read a quality newspaper on a regular basis."

Today's launch issue features a large red "i" on the front page and a story about a UK housing crisis, compared with a front page article about the Middle East in its sister paper.

Media commentator Roy Greenslade has described i as "a populist alter ego to the Independent".

Sales of the Independent, which costs £1, have fallen to around 183,000 a day from about 250,000 three years ago. The title was founded in 1986.