News International's current chief executive, Tom Mockridge, is to leave at the end of the month.

The exit comes amid various moves in the company, including the possible departure of the Times editor James Harding, and the movement of Robert Thomson, currently managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and editor in chief of Dow Jones, to the position of chief executive of News Corp.

The business is also about to split into two, separating its publishing arm from its TV and film venture.

According to the BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas, Mockridge was passed over in the reshuffle, having been in the running for the position of overall chief executive of News Corp.

Rupert Murdoch said Mockridge's decision had been "absolutely and entirely his own".

Mockridge succeeded Rebekah Brookes after her resignation last year over the phone-hacking scandal.