World Economy

Jul 15, 2011

Rebekah Brooks quits amid phone-hacking scandal

News Corp.'s AU:NWS -2.83% top U.K. executive Rebekah Brooks resigned Friday amid mounting pressure for her to step down over the phone hacking scandal at the media giant's now defunct tabloid newspaper News of the World.

Brooks, chief executive of News Corp.'s U.K. division News International, said she feels "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."

As a result, Brooks told staff in an internal memo seen by Dow Jones Newswires that she has given her resignation to News Corp. Chief Executive and Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch, and it has been accepted.

Brooks said that she will now "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," Brooks said in the memo. These include a police investigations and an appearance in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee due to take place Tuesday.

News Corporation said in a statement Friday that Tom Mockridge will replace Brooks as CEO of News International with immediate effect. Mockridge joins from Sky Italia where has been CEO since the company launched in 2003

by erectusplus at 9:52 AM |