James Murdoch and BSkyB face shareholder protest vote

Protest votes against James Murdoch remaining as chairman of BSkyB have been cast by three US-based investors ahead of next week's annual meeting of the satellite broadcaster.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (Calstrs), the Florida State Board of Administration, and the Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) have lodged votes against Murdoch remaining on the board. Calstrs, the largest teachers' retirement service in the US, with $146bn (£94bn) of assets, has voted against all the directors on the board ahead of the annual meeting on 29 November.

Calstrs was among the investors to vote against the re-election of Murdoch to the board of News Corporation at last month's annual meeting, while the CBIS led an unsuccessful campaign for Rupert Murdoch to be stripped of his roles as chairman and chief executive of News Corp, which owns almost 40% of BSkyB.

Even before the opposition of the three US funds was disclosed, James Murdoch was under pressure about his role as chairman of BSkyB, following the phone-hacking scandal. The Labour MP Chris Bryant intends to attend next week's annual meeting to express his concerns about the corporate governance at the company after he wrote to 40 major shareholders urging them to vote against James Murdoch's re-election to the board.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/25/james-murdoch-bskyb-shareholder-protest

www.avaaz.org/en/bskyb_shareholders_meeting/?cl=1418264868&v=11277