Rebekah Brooks to Lead News Corp's U.K. Arm

News Corp said Wednesday that Rebekah Brooks will become Chief Executive of its News UK arm, returning to the post she resigned in 2011 amid the phone-hacking scandal at now-defunct British tabloid the News of the World.

The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets had reported last week that the move was coming. News Corp owns Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires and other news products.

Ms. Brooks, 47 years old, was a central figure in the controversy over phone hacking, in which journalists illegally intercepted voice-mail messages during the reporting process. She was acquitted last summer of all charges, including phone hacking, bribery and two counts of obstruction of justice. She has maintained she didn't have knowledge of phone hacking during her tenure editing the paper. Following her acquittal, she was widely expected to return to News Corp.

Ms. Brooks's "expertise, excellence and leadership will be crucial as we work to extend our relationship with readers and advertisers, and develop our digital platforms to take full advantage of our brilliant journalism," said News Corp CEO Robert Thomson.

She replaces Mike Darcey, who leaves the CEO seat after three years there.

The company also announced that David Dinsmore will be chief operating officer of News UK, and Tony Gallagher was named editor in chief of the Sun, a British daily newspaper.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 02, 2015 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)

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