Presses to fall silent at UK's Independent as paper goes online-only

LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Britain's Independent newspaper is to disappear from news stands next month after its Russian owner said the 29-year-old title would only publish online, in the starkest sign yet of the pressures weighing on the newspaper industry.

The paper launched by a group of journalists in 1986 with the slogan "it is - are you?" has become Britain's highest-profile casualty of the change in news reading habits brought about by the Internet.

From a peak of around 400,000 copies a day, circulation has fallen to just over 40,000.

"This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms," said owner Evgeny Lebedev in a statement on Friday.

"The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers," he added. "They're showing us that the future is digital."

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Stephen Addison)