Sky shareholders told to vote against James Murdoch's re-election

Former chief executive James Murdoch could face a protest vote against his role on the Sky’s board due to "conflicts of interest", when the broadcaster’s shareholders meet on Friday.

Shareholders have been advised by two shareholder groups to vote against Murdoch’s re-election, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which unites 61 public sector pension funds, as well as the Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC)

Murdoch's father, Rupert Murdoch, controls 39% of Sky through his ownership of Twenty First Century Fox, and also run News Corp, publisher of tabloid newspapers such as the Sun and formerly the News of the World, among numerous other titles.

“LAPFF has consistently raised concerns about James Murdoch’s role on the BSkyB board since 2011, concerning conflicts of interest and director candidature suitability,” said Kieran Quinn, chairman of the LAPFF.

"As well as his conflicted role as a board member, Mr Murdoch’s ability to respond appropriately to a governance crisis at BSkyB is in doubt given the scandalous events at News and the subsequent views of Ofcom."

Ofcom, the UK communications industries regulator, criticised his handling of the phone hacking scandal.

PIRC said shareholders should vote against Murdoch's re-election due to his previous roles as chief executive and chairman and because his father is Sky's controlling shareholder.

"His conduct in relation to events at News Group Newspapers repeatedly fell short of what was to be expected of him as CEO and chairman," it said in a statement.

The younger Murdoch was appointed Sky’s chief executive by his father between 2003 and 2007, before becoming chairman until April 2012 and eventually assuming his current role as non-executive director.

“James Murdoch has always acted with integrity and competence in his time at Sky. He continues to make a major contribution to the company,” Sky said in a statement.

At last year’s meeting, 4% of investors voted against Murdoch’s re-election.

On Wednesday, Murdoch stepped down as chairman of Sky Deutschland's supervisory board, with Sky's current CEO Jeremy Darroch voted in.

Sky shares were down 0.17% to 895.00p at 15:02 on Thursday.