James Murdoch Turns Down £3.7 Million Bonus Payment

James Murdoch Refuses Six Million Dollar Bonus

PRESS ASSOCIATION - James Murdoch, the boss of News Corporation's UK arm, has refused to accept a six million US dollars (£3.7 million) bonus in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

The son of Rupert Murdoch was due to receive the bonus as part of a 17.9 million US dollars (£11.1 million) pay package for the year June 30, which was revealed in documents released on Friday.

But he said he would not accept the bonus "in light of the current controversy surrounding News of the World", the Sunday tabloid which closed in the wake of the scandal.

He added: "While the financial and operating performance metrics on which the bonus decision was based are not associated with this matter, I feel that declining the bonus is the right thing to do. I will consult with the compensation committee in the future about whether any bonus may be appropriate at a later date."

James Murdoch is executive chairman of News International, News Corp's UK newspaper business, and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp. His bonus was due to boost his pay package by 74% to 17.9 million US dollars. Even without the bonus, his compensation will rise 16% to 11.9 million US dollars (£7.3 million).

His father, News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch, saw his total pay packet rise 47% to 33.3 million US dollars (£20.5 million) in the past year, the documents released before its annual meeting next month showed.

The executive chairman's pay was boosted by a 12.5 million US dollar (£7.7 million) bonus for the year, which he has not offered to forego.

News Corp was caught up in a phone hacking scandal during the financial year, which led to the closure of the tabloid. However, it was not until July that the scandal escalated into a full blown crisis. Later that month, both Rupert and James Murdoch were grilled by the Treasury Select Committee.

The report said Rupert Murdoch deserved his bonus because he had led the company through the economic downturn and positioned it for growth. James Murdoch had played an important part in developing the company's key businesses in investments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, it added.

News Corp reported an 8% rise in profits to 2.7 billion US dollars (£1.7 billion) in the year.

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