Beefing up at BSkyB 'just sops'

THE appointment of Lord Rothschild as deputy chairman at BSkyB and its promise of another independent non-executive director were today dismissed as 'sops' by one powerful institutional shareholder.

Sandy Crombie, deputy chief executive of Standard Life and chairman of the influential investment committee of the Association of British Insurers, said the company's concessions to shareholder unrest were not enough.

Rebel shareholders would now focus on whether Rupert Murdoch should remain chairman following the naming of his son James as chief executive.

'On the face of it, it's awfully hard to justify,' Crombie said. 'If James is the right chief executive, what's the right board?'

But he cautioned against demands for an extraordinary meeting to kick out the entire board - the 'nuclear option' raised by the National Association of Pension Funds.