Quit call: Murdochs 'must go'

Rupert and James Murdoch should be voted off the board of News Corp in the wake of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, British local authority pension funds said today.

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, whose 54 members have combined assets of £100 billion, said that having engaged directly with the News Corp board it had decided boardroom change had to come at this month's annual meeting in New York.

It said James Murdoch's "continued presence on the News Corp board is causing significant reputational damage to the company and is no longer in shareholders' interest". Forum chairman Ian Greenwood said: "News Corp and its shareholders desperately want to draw a line under this scandal, but that will only be possible if the board accepts the need to demonstrate real accountability.

"That requires a change in the structure and the make-up of the board. Whilst these are difficult issues for the company to address, we believe that to secure News Corp's long-term future such reform is necessary."

The group is recommending votes for lead director Rod Eddington, Andrew Knight and Viet Dinh.