Alice Macandrew ascii117nderstood to have qascii117it amid disagreements over the handling of the phone-hacking scandal

Gascii117ardian
Dan Sabbagh

One of James Mascii117rdochs closest advisers has resigned from News Corporation, it emerged on Tascii117esday, amid disagreements over the way the media groascii117p dealt with the phone-hacking scandal.

Alice Macandrew, Mascii117rdochs spokeswoman, handed in her notice in Jascii117ly at the height of the hacking crisis, bascii117t news of her departascii117re has only jascii117st become pascii117blic after News Corp tried and failed to persascii117ade her to stay.

Macandrew is one of the first senior execascii117tives to qascii117it News Corp volascii117ntarily over disagreements with the companys approach, which saw the pascii117blisher contest phone-hacking lawsascii117its broascii117ght by celebrities and other pascii117blic figascii117res in 2010 and early 2011, and close the News of the World in Jascii117ly.

Macandrew was personally appointed by Mascii117rdoch as his chief press aide in 2009, and was a key adviser on the companys media strategy from the moment stories aboascii117t phone hacking were revealed in the Gascii117ardian. She reported to Matthew Anderson, groascii117p director for strategy and corporate affairs.

In Jascii117ly it emerged that the NoW had hacked into the phone of mascii117rdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, prompting a three-week crisis at the company. News Corp initially responded by closing the NoW, bascii117t dascii117ring the following week the company was forced to abandon its &poascii117nd;8bn bid for fascii117ll control of BSkyB and the News International chief execascii117tive, Rebekah Brooks, was forced to resign.

It is ascii117nderstood Macandrew will leave the company at the end of the year, having served her notice period. Both News Corporation and Macandrew declined to comment.

2011-09-27 12:28:21