Pressure mounts on James Murdoch ahead of Sky AGM

Shareholder advisory group Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) has advised investors to vote against re-electing James Murdoch chairman of UK pay TV platform BSkyB.

PIRC said that Murdoch’s involvement in the ongoing newspaper phone-hacking scandal engulfing News International risks impacting negatively on Sky’s image. Murdoch is COO of News Corp, the largest shareholder in Sky and News International’s parent company.

PIRC added that Murdoch’s New York-based COO role  at News Corp and other non-executive director positions at companies including pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
Sky shareholders will be asked to vote on whether to re-elect Murdoch at the company’s AGM on November 29.