Bowing to pressure, an embattled media executive at the heart of the phone hacking scandal threatening Rupert Murdoch’s media advisor has resigned.
Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, offered her resignation, and it was accepted. According to reports Tom Mockridge, the head of Sky Italia, will replace Brooks as chief executive of News International.
In an emailed statement, Rebekaah Brooks said “I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation.. and this time it has been accepted.”
Her position had become untenable. It has been reported that she had offered her resignation before, but that it was not accepted. Prime Minister David Cameron said before Parliament Wednesday, “She was right to resign, that resignation should have been accepted.”
In offering her resignation, she said: “I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.”
She said she needed “to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive.
Rebekaah Brooks. Reuters
As per a Guardian report, James Murdoch has accepted her resignation as it was time Brooks took the step to “clear her name”.
According to David Rose, assistant news editor at the Times, part of News International, James Murdoch has said, News International adverts in newspapers will run this weekend to “apologise to the nation for what has happened.”
Brooks, a favorite of parent company News Corp’s CEO Murdoch, was editor of the News of the World tabloid during the time it hacked voicemails of murder victims and bereaved relatives, and had come under intense pressure to quit.
James Murdoch, Rupert’s son who heads News Corp’s non-US operations, said in a statement: “I believe that Tom is the best person to move the company forward to a brighter future.”
Here’s the email statement she sent to her staff:
As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place.
I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.
This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past.
Rupert’s wisdom, kindness and incisive advice has guided me throughout my career and James is an inspirational leader who has shown me great loyalty and friendship.
I would like to thank them both for their support.
I have worked here for 22 years and I know it to be part of the finest media company in the world.
News International is full of talented, professional and honourable people. I am proud to have been part of the team and lucky to know so many brilliant journalists and media executives.I leave with the happiest of memories and an abundance of friends.
As you can imagine recent times have been tough. I now need to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive.
My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations and the CMS appearance.
I am so grateful for all the messages of support. I have nothing but overwhelming respect for you and our millions of readers.
I wish every one of you all the best.
Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.
In other developments in this fast moving story:
• After calls from senior members of Congress, the FBI has launched a “preliminary inquiry” into whether News Corp attempted to hack into the phones of the families of victimes of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
• Both Rupert Murdoch and son James bowed to requests to testify before a parliamentary committee next week.
• On Thursday, Former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis was the ninth person to be arrested in the case.
• After his arrest, it was revealed that Wallis’ communications firm had been paid for consulting work by the Metropolitan Police. The revelation cast further suspicion on the police. Head of the Met, Sir Paul Stephenson, was called to answer questions before the parliamentary committee next Tuesday and faced question from London Mayor Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Theresa May.
With inputs from agencies
