Under siege James Murdoch quits BSkyB

Murdoch’s media empire in Britain has since faced sustained criticism and inquiries.

In November,over 40 per cent of BSkyB’s independent shareholders voted against or abstained from voting for James Murdoch’s re-election to the board.

Murdoch’s resignation as chairman at a board meeting was confirmed by BSkyB this afternoon. He will continue on the broadcaster’s board as a non-executive director.

He is being replaced as chairman by Nicholas Ferguson,currently deputy chairman of BSkyB.

In a letter to the BSkyB’s Board setting out the reasons for his resignation,Murdoch said: “As attention continues to be paid to past events at News International,I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this Company.”

He added: “I am aware that my role as Chairman could become a lightning rod for BSkyB and I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organisation.”

James and his father are scheduled to appear before the Leveson Inquiry later this month.

Parent company News Corp,which owns almost 40 per cent of BSkyB,wanted to buy the whole of the company,but withdrew its bid as political pressure mounted due to allegations of unethical news-gathering practices at sister company News International’s News of the World,which was shut down last July.

Murdoch’s position as chairman of BSkyB would have been untenable following the Select Committee’s impending criticism,and observers believe he preferred to resign on his own rather than be seen to be pushed out of the post after the committee’s report is out.

Former News International executive Jack Irvine told Sky News that Murdoch’s decision to quit as chairman was “inevitable”.

Stating that the resignation was “reputational”,Irvine said: “The trouble is TV companies for some peculiar reason have to have a much higher standard of business propriety than newspapers. You’ve got to be seen to be cleaner than clean.