James Murdoch is to stand down from his non-executive chairman’s position at BSkyB over his handling of the phone-hacking scandal that took place at The News of the World newspaper.
Whilst it has been rumored for a couple of days, Sky News – which is owned by BSkyB – all but confirmed his imminent exit earlier this afternoon.
It has been a steady downhill slope for Rupert and James Murdoch over the past year, ever since the plug was pulled on the UK’s News of the World in the wake of the phone-hacking allegations. They’ve both since faced MPs questions, whilst James Murdoch resigned as Director at the Sun and the Times’ publishing company (NGN), and he later relinquished his position as executive chairman of News International.
This latest step-down means that James Murdoch is still the Deputy COO of News Corporation, and he still sits on its board of directors, but this seemingly ends any direct link he has with News Corporation’s UK assets. Indeed, this move won’t surprise many, and the timing is pretty apt, as he’s scheduled to give evidence at the UK’s Leveson Inquiry into media practice and ethics.
Originally posted here: