Alan Yentob has stepped down as BBC executive after speculation he pressured reporters over the Kids Company scandal.

The 68-year-old will step down from his role as creative director at the end of the year to focus on programme making and TV production, but will remain as Chairman of BBC Films and continue to present the BBC1 arts series Imagine.

In a public statement, Mr Yentob said: "The BBC is going through particularly challenging times and I have come to believe that the speculation bout Kids Company and the media coverage revolving around my role is proving a serious distraction."

Mr Yentob had angrily rejected criticism from MPs on the Commons Public Administration Committee over his management role at the charity and denied any conflict of interest with his job at the BBC.

He came under criticism after it was revealed he attended a BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview with the Kids Company chief executive Camilla Batmanghelidjh and had made a phone call to a senior journalist at Newsnight, which has investigated the demise of the charity.

But he has insisted he had the full backing of senior colleagues at the BBC and indicated he intended to be part of discussions on significant restructuring of the organisation, which faces further budget cuts.

It is understood that he will not be receiving a pay-off for leaving the Creative Director role.

In his resignation statement he added: "I love the BBC and will continue to do everything I can to ensure that it thrives and fulfills the great expectations we all have of it."

Tony Hall, the BBC Director General, said: “Alan is a towering figure in television, the arts, and a creative force for good for Britain. He has served the BBC with distinction in a number of different executive roles – all of which have been characterised by his energy, creativity and commitment to public service. He has an extraordinary roll-call of achievement.

“For the record, BBC News considered whether Alan Yentob had influenced the BBC’s journalism on the reporting of Kids Company. They concluded that he did not.

"Despite that, I understand his reasons for stepping down as Creative Director. He has been thinking about this carefully for some time and we have discussed it privately on a number of occasions.