John Witherow, the editor of the Sunday Times, has been made acting editor of its sister title The Times following the failure of the independent national directors of the two Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers formally to ratify the appointment.
Mr Murdoch had sought to make Mr Witherow the permanent editor of the weekday newspaper following the departure of his predecessor James Harding last month. But, as part of a broader undertaking made to the government over how the News International titles are governed, any change of editor requires formal approval from the newspapers’ independent national directors.
