Hinton, who has worked for Murdoch for over 50 years, told staff at the Wall Street Journal he had no option but to resign

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Rupert Murdoch's righthand man Les Hinton has resigned in the latest shock development of a saga still threatening to engulf the newspaper and TV mogul's empire.

Hinton, who has worked for the media baron for more than 50 years, told staff at the Wall Street Journal he had no option but to resign.

"It is a deeply, deeply sad day for me.

"When I left News International in December 2007, I believed that the rotten element at the News of the World had been eliminated.

"That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant," he wrote in a letter to staff adding: "I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp."

Hinton headed Murdoch's British newspaper arm, News International, when the phone-hacking allegations first arose.

His resignation comes just hours after his successor in the UK, Rebekah Brooks, fell on her sword as Murdoch made attempts to draw a line under the scandal.

Hinton had come under increasing scrutiny recently as a cascade of allegations indicated the problems at the centre of the scandal were more widespread than he had twice led a parliamentary committee to believe.

In 2007 and 2009, he told a select committee that the company had carried out a full investigation into the matter and was convinced just one of its journalists was involved.

Murdoch said: "Les and I have been on a remarkable journey together for more than 52 years. That this passage has come to an unexpected end, professionally, not personally, is a matter of much sadness to me."

Hinton was parachuted into New York in 2007 after Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal and tasked with transforming the paper into the "Financial Times of America".

A trusted and discreet lieutenant of Murdoch's, he said in a statement that he had "watched with sorrow from New York as the News of the World story unfolded".

"The pain caused to innocent people is unimaginable. That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp and apologise to those hurt by the actions of News of the World."

He added that "his testimonies" before the culture, media and sport select committee "were given honestly".

At the heart of the scandal were News International's claims that the phone-tapping was the work of a "rogue reporter" - royal reporter Clive Goodman.

In his statement, Hinton says at the time he believed that to be the case.

"When I appeared before the committee in March 2007, I expressed the belief that Clive Goodman had acted alone, but made clear our investigation was continuing. In September 2009, I told the committee there had never been any evidence delivered to me that suggested the conduct had spread beyond one journalist.

"If others had evidence that wrongdoing went further, I was not told about it."

Hinton has spent his entire career working for Murdoch, beginning as a reporter at the Adelaide News and rising through the ranks until he was tapped to run News International in 1995 – and later Dow Jones – which made him responsible for the News of the World during the years when the phone hacking took place.

Tall, trim and debonair, with rimless glasses and waves of silver hair, Hinton has a reputation for being level-headed and insightful, and has won praise for balancing out some of the stormier personalities within including Murdoch himself.

"He runs interference for Rupert," said one source who knows both men. "He's a very nice guy – congenial, easy going and smart."

Hinton lives in an elegant townhouse – fitted out with a jacuzzi and a deck – on Manhattan's upper east side with his wife, Kath, a former aide to Gordon Brown.

He started his career as a teenager checking copy at Murdoch's first paper, the Adelaide News in Australia. Among his duties were fetching the boss's lunch.

Rising through the ranks until he was tapped to run News International, he was equally at home with the celebrity culture of the tabloids as he was with spreadsheets and boardroom power-plays.

He was liked by staff, particularly by journalists who felt he understood their trade, but he rarely courted publicity. His motto was: "The lower your profile, the longer your longevity in Rupert's court."

It was with reluctance the 67-year-old executive went to the US in 2007. He was given little choice by Murdoch, who rewards loyalty handsomely.

As Murdoch crossed the globe over the next 50 years acquiring newspapers and TV stations, Hinton was never far away.

"Rupert would not be where he is today if he had not recognised talent," Boston Herald publisher Patrick Purcell said in introducing Hinton, an old friend, before a speech to an executive club in March.

Hinton replied: "If Rupert Murdoch asked me to get his lunch," he quipped in his speech, "I still will."