Murdoch sons' re-election to News Corp board opposed

James Murdoch and his brother Lachlan, sons of billionaire Rupert Murdoch, should be replaced on the News Corp board to improve accountability at the company, an Australian pension fund group has said.

The brothers and four other board members shouldn’t be re-elected because the company needed “credible skilled outside directors,” the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, whose members manage more than A$250 bn in pension assets, said on its website.

The council also wants a “genuinely independent” chairman, rather than Rupert Murdoch in that role and CEO. News Corp has been embroiled in a scandal since July over revelations its News of the World newspaper hacked a murdered girl’s voicemail. That led to the closing of the UK tabloid, executive resignations and the scrapping of a bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting group.