News International CEO Steps Down

Rebekah Brooks, the Chief Executive of News International, announced Friday that she will be stepping down in the wake of an extensive phone hacking scandal.

“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,” Brooks said in a statement. 

Brooks went on to note that her resignation will give her the ability to better cooperate with investigations of the publishing giant. 

News Corporation, the media conglomerate that oversees News International, announced Friday that Tom Mockridge, the CEO of Sky Italia, will be stepping in for Brooks.

News International became embroiled in controversy after it was charged with hacking into the private records of UK officials, British troops and their families and Milly Downer, a missing 13 year old girl who was later found dead. In the aftermath, the corporation withdrew its bid to consolidate its control of the British Sky Broadcasting Group.

In a statement issued Friday, James Murdoch, the Chair of News Corporation, promised that News International will run apologies through its commercial partners.