British journalist withdraws from leading Washington Post's newsroom

US journalists have been investigating their British bosses for past reporting practices

The Washington Post's headquarters in Washington. AFP

A British journalist who was due to run the Washington Post's newsroom has withdrawn from the position amid a furore in the US about top media outlets hiring editors with questionable ethical backgrounds from across the Atlantic.

“It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of Editor at The Washington Post,” the Post's publisher, Will Lewis, said in the memo seen by Reuters.

He will stay as deputy editor of the Telegraph in London.

Earlier this month, the New York Times and the Post reported that Winnett allegedly worked with a private investigator who admitted to using unethical means to obtain information.

The newspapers also scrutinised past reporting practices of the Post's new chief executive, Will Lewis, another Brit.

Britain's press is perceived as having practices that could breach newsrooms' ethical codes in the US.

For example, several UK newspapers in the early 2000s routinely hacked the phones of celebrities and other figures in the news in order to obtain information.

Britain's press is also seen as being more willing to use subterfuge and to pay for stories, whereas “chequebook journalism” in the US is more frowned upon, even though some outlets still do it.

The news comes amid a shake-up at the Post after Sally Buzbee, its first woman to lead the newsroom, exited as executive editor earlier this month.

Matt Murray, former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, will lead the newsroom and continue in his role as executive editor until after the US elections, according to the memo.