Rebekah Brooks, CEO of News International and protégé of Rupert Murdoch, has resigned in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

The former editor of the now-shuttered News of the World believes the resignation will allow her to “concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive.”

It gives her the “freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all current and future inquiries,” according to her statement.

Brooks thanked Rupert Murdoch for his “wisdom, kindness and incisive advice” that guided her throughout her 22 years at the News Corp. property.

Tom Mockridge moves from the helm of Sky Italia to the hot seat at News International. He also was CEO of News Corp’s European TV operations beyond the U.K. He’s been with News Corp. since 1991, working in Australia and New Zealand before heading for Europe.

Meanwhile, News Corp Int’l will run ads in the U.K.’s national newspapers this weekend to apologize for its activities, according to James Murdoch, chairman of the operation and deputy COO of News Corp.

“The company has made mistakes. It is not only receiving appropriate scrutiny, but is also responding to unfair attacks by setting the record straight,” he said.

James Murdoch promised future “communications about the actions we have taken to address the wrongdoing that occurred.”

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