British journalist Robert Winnett will step down as editor of The Washington Post after ethical questions were raised about his previous work, it was reported on Friday.
According to CNN and the New York Times, Washington Post editor Will Lewis announced the decision to staff in a memo on Friday morning.
“It is with regret that I inform you that Robert Winnett has resigned from his position as editor of The Washington Post. Rob has my utmost respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist,” the memo said.
Lewis, who became publisher and CEO of the Post in January following his appointment by Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, added that Winnett will continue as deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph in London.
Lewis had chosen Winnett to head the editorial board earlier this month as part of a restructuring that saw Post editor-in-chief Sally Buzbee resign rather than accept a demotion.
Winnett had worked with Lewis at two British newspapers and served as a mentor to him, the Washington Post reported. But his past journalistic work in Britain quickly came under criticism.
Several reports questioned Winnett’s involvement in a wiretapping scandal, and articles appeared alleging that a source was being paid for information – a practice more common in England but frowned upon in the United States. Winnett was also accused of destroying evidence in a civil case related to the wiretapping scandal, a charge he denies.
Lewis’ journalistic ethics were also questioned.
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik accused Lewis earlier this month of offering him an exclusive report on his plans for the newspaper in exchange for cutting an article about his own involvement in the British hacking scandal.
Lewis joined Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. in 2010 and is accused of helping to destroy evidence while serving on a committee that oversaw the company’s response to the scandal. Lewis denies any wrongdoing.
Folkenflik said Lewis urged him “multiple times – and vehemently” to accept the exclusive offer, but he ultimately turned it down.
Lewis later sharply criticized Folkenflik’s reporting in an email to a Post reporter, claiming it was based on a “confidential conversation” they had before he joined the Post. But Folkenflik denied that their conversation was entirely confidential.
Lewis went on to say that Foklenflik’s reporting was based on a “non-story.”
