Times editor Harding to stand down

The editor of The Times newspaper is to stand down at the end of the month.

James Harding, 43, one of the youngest journalists ever to take charge of the paper, informed the national independent directors of The Times this morning, News International and Times Newspapers Ltd said.

Mr Harding, who has been in charge of the paper for five years, said: "For any journalist, it is an extraordinary privilege and a point of pride to see your work appear beneath the masthead of The Times, the greatest name in newspapers in the world.

"I feel hugely honoured to have been given the opportunity to edit the paper and deeply grateful for the experience of working among the finest journalists in the world.

"This paper has an unrivalled history and, I am extremely confident, a long and impressive future ahead of it."

Mr Harding began his journalistic career at the Financial Times after studying at Cambridge University.

He opened its Shanghai bureau and served as bureau chief in Washington before joining The Times as business editor.

The national independent directors of The Times will now be consulted on a replacement, a company spokesman said.

The newspaper's commercial projects editor, Kat Brown, posted Mr Harding's leaving speech.

In it he said it was "made clear to me that News International would like to appoint a new editor of The Times". He thanked owner Rupert Murdoch for appointing him and congratulated staff on their efforts.