James Murdoch reappointed chairman of BSkyB

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James Murdoch has been reappointed as chairman of BSkyB during a vote in which almost a third of independent shareholders voted against him. Excluding votes cast by News International parent company News Corporation, which owns 39.1 per cent of BSkyB, 31.4 per cent of shareholders opposed Murdoch's re-election to the board at the broadcasters AGM. Murdoch received support from 55.7 per cent of independent investors while 12.9 per cent abstained. Murdoch, 38, who was chief executive of BSkyB from 2003 to 2007, was expected to face a backlash of support after his handling of the phone-hacking scandal in his role as chairman of News International. He was met by protesters with placards calling for shareholders to vote against him when he arrived at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, where the board meeting took place. Votes cast at the AGM saw 18.8 per cent of shareholders voted Murdoch, almost a fifth of the votes. Including the News Corporation support, when withheld votes cast after the AGM were taken into account he saw 17.4 per cent of shareholders vote against his reappointment, with the support of 75.4 per cent of the investors and 7.2 per cent withheld. Nick Ferguson, BSkyB's deputy chairman, said in a statement: "The board recognises that there have been contrasting views among shareholders on the question of the chairmanship. All shareholders have now had the opportunity to vote and we have a conclusive result. A clear majority, including a majority of independent shareholders, have voted for James Murdoch to continue in his role. The entire BSkyB board is now determined to move forward to maintain BSkyB's strong performance, grow its positive contribution to UK life, and create value for all shareholders."

Last month, Murdoch was re-elected to his position at News Corp despite suffering a confidence blow, with 35 per cent of shareholders voting against him and 34 per cent voting against his brother Lachlan. Last week it was revealed that in September James Murdoch stepped down from the board of News Group Newspapers , publisher of the Sun and from the board of Times Newspapers Ltd, publisher of the Times and the Sunday Times. He remains director of the editorial board of the Times.

In July News Corp were forced to withdraw a bid for BSkyB amid revelations of phone hacking by News of the World.