Harding: 'It has been a privilege to work at The Times'

James Harding, who is 43, was one of the youngest journalists ever to take charge of The Times and has been at its helm for five years. Educated at Cambridge, Mr Harding began his journalistic career at the Financial Times.

He opened their Shanghai Bureau and served as Bureau Chief in Washington before joining The Times as Business Editor.

Speaking following his resignation, Mr Harding 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.”