James Murdoch is to step down as executive chairman of News International newspapers in the UK, it has been announced.
News Corporation confirmed this afternoon that Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch, will no longer chair the board at the group that includes companies publishing The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun.
He has been widely criticised for his handling of the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World last year, including question marks over how much he knew about the scale of criminal behaviour at the UK newspaper publisher.
Last November, Murdoch quit the board of two newspaper publishers - News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun, and Times Newspapers Limited (TNL), which publishes The Times and The Sunday Times, along with the board of drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline.
However, he remains chairman of pay-TV giant Sky, and will also continue as deputy chief operating officer of News International parent group News Corporation.
Tom Mockridge, the former Sky Italia boss who joined News International as chief executive officer following the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, will continue in his post, but now report directly to News Corporation president and chief operating officer Chase Carey.
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:27 pm