A leading investor in BSkyB said he backs James Murdoch staying as chairman of the pay-TV firm despite politicians questioning his suitability, the Telegraph newspaper web site reported on Saturday.
Crispin Odey, head of hedge fund Odey Asset Management, which holds around 2.7 per cent of BSkyB’s shares, told the Sunday Telegraph in an interview that he admired the 38-year-old son of News Corp head Rupert Murdoch as a strategist.
But he said News Corp should reduce the number of its appointees to the BSkyB board. News Corp, which holds 39 per cent of BSkyB, abandoned its $12 billion bid to buy the remaining shares this month in a furor over allegations of phone hacking by its News of the World tabloid.
“James is a great strategist and should remain chairman, but at the moment BSkyB has got too many News Corp appointees,” Odey said.