James Murdoch has resigned from the boards of Times Newspapers Limited and News Group Newspapers, the News Corp subsidiaries which publish The Times and The Sun.

He remains, however, executive chairman of the parent company News International.

The departures come as he relocates from London to New York. It has been suggested that he intends to shift to a more hands off approach. He has been replaced on both newspaper boards by Tom Mockridge, chief executive of NI.

NGN is the firm subject to civil lawsuits over phone hacking and Murdoch has faced pressure from shareholders to take a step back to limit the reputational damage from the scandal.

Murdoch may face similar pressure at the BSkyB AGM which is next week. Murdoch is chairman of BSkyB which is also currently undergoing board member changes with proposed appointments to replace those retiring.

Companies House filings show that Murdoch stepped down in September, yet the resignation only became public knowledge when the Evening Standard reported it today, 23 November.