Murdoch favourite Brooks buckles

Rebekah Brooks, bowing to pressure, resigns as chief executive of news international; British PM David Cameron says it is 'right decision'

Murdoch favourite Brooks buckles

Rebekah Brooks, bowing to pressure, resigns as chief executive of news international; British PM David Cameron says it is 'right decision'

Rebekah Brooks stepped down after 22 years at the News. Her resignation came days after News International -- which owns The Sun -- closed down Sunday tabloid the News of the World over phone hacking allegations.
She will be replaced by Tom Mockridge, the boss of Sky Italia. Brooks said her "desire to remain at the bridge" was causing the company problems as it battles to fix the fallout from the phone hacking scandal. Brooks decided to leave despite the public backing of Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of News International parent company News Corporation.

Stepping down: Rupert Murdoch accepted Rebekah Brooks' resignation.
He had previously twice turned down her offer to quit. Pic/AFP

Yesterday, following days of pressure from PM David Cameron, Ed Miliband and major News Corp shareholders, she told staff, "I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted." She wrote, "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."

She added, "At News International we pride ourselves on setting the news agenda for the right reasons. Today we are leading the news for the wrong ones." She said that her ongoing role was detracting from the company's honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past.

Her resignation would allow her to fight to clear her own name, she said. "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."

Yesterday, the Prime Minister's spokesman said he believed Brooks' resignation was "the right decision".
"It is right that Rebekah Brooks has finally taken responsibility and resigned," he wrote on Twitter, but added: "Mr Murdoch still hasn't apologised to the victims of phone hacking."

Tom Mockridge who turned Sky Italia Srl into Italy's pay-television market leader, will replace Rebekah Brooks as chief executive officer of News Corp

F****D the Company
The one person who will be very pleased at Brooks' decision to step down will be Elisabeth Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's daughter. A day before Brooks' resigned Murdoch told reporters that Brooks' had f****d the company.

Outstanding
James Murdoch immediately issued his own statement, thanking Brooks for her service to the company. He said: "She has been one of the outstanding editors of her generation. We support her as she takes this step to clear her name."