James Murdoch quits as chairman of BSkyB
04 Apr 2012
Bowing to shareholder pressure James Murdoch has finally quit as chairman of BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster.
He wrote in a letter to the board that he feared becoming ''a lightning rod'' for the pay-TV broadcaster, and that BSkyB risked being ''undermined by matters outside the scope of the company.'' He was referring to the phone hacking scandal at News Corporation.
''I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organisation,'' he said.
BSkyB's deputy chairman, Nicholas Ferguson, would take over from Murdoch, but Murdoch would retain a seat on the board as a non-executive director.
In a statement, Ferguson praised Murdoch's ''vision, drive and strategic insight'' and reiterated that the board's ''support for James and belief in his integrity remain strong''.
Murdoch's decision came after he spoke to close colleagues at BSkyB and News Corporation last week and over the weekend.
