James Murdoch has resigned from the boards of the companies that publish its British newspapers including the now-defunct News of the World tabloid at the centre of the phone hacking sandal, regulatory filings show.

The London Evening Standard newspaper said Murdoch would remain as chairman of the News International division, the News Corp unit that houses its British newspapers, and said the news should not be interpreted as a sign that he was walking away from that part of the business.

No one at News International could immediately be reached for comment.

The News International unit has been damaged this year by the revelation that people working for the popular Sunday tabloid hacked into the phones of thousands to generate news.

Regulatory filings showed that Murdoch had resigned from the board of News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun tabloid, and Times Newspapers Limited, which publishes the Times and Sunday Times.

The filings show that he resigned in September.