Posted 2012/01/27 at 6:37 am EST
LONDON, Jan. 27, 2012 (Reuters) — James Murdoch, facing scrutiny over his role in a phone hacking scandal at the News of the World tabloid, is to step down from the board of GlaxoSmithKline, Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Friday.
"James Murdoch has decided to stand down from the board with effect from this year's AGM," GSK Chairman Christopher Gent said in a statement.
Murdoch took the decision to focus on his current duties as Non-executive Chairman of BSkyB, and following his decision to re-locate to the United States, as Chairman and Chief Executive, International, of News Corp, he added.
In July, GSK said Murdoch, who had joined its board in 2009,
had made a 'strong contribution,' but added it would watch investigations into the phone-hacking scandal engulfing his family's newspaper business.
A committee within Britain's parliament is due to publish a report in the next few weeks over the phone hacking scandal, which could criticize Murdoch for his handling of the problem which damaged News Corp's reputation.
(Reporting by Adveith Nair)
Share
Blog
Subscribe
Print
Email
Bookmark