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The Society of Editors chief has tonight resigned after coming under fire for defending the UK press from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's racism claims.
Ian Murray, the industry body's executive director, faced a backlash after releasing a statement saying the couple's accusations, made in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, were 'not acceptable'.
He said the Duke and Duchess' claims were made 'without supporting evidence' and, defending the UK media, said it had a 'proud record of calling out racism'.
But the remarks drew criticism from some within the industry, including editors of publications such as the HuffPost and the left-wing Guardian, who both said the statement did not reflect their opinion.
ITV's news anchor Charlene White today pulled out of presenting the industry body's annual awards following Mr Murray's statement.
And a number of journalists and newspapers also announced they would reject their nominations for the sought-after honours.
Now, less than 24 hours after Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan resigned following a Twitter storm about his comments on the explosive interview, Mr Murray has announced he is stepping down from his role with the industry body.
In a statement he said: 'Since the statement was issued the SoE has been heavily criticised.
© Provided by Daily MailIan Murray, the industry body's executive director, faced a backlash from sections of the media after releasing a statement saying the couple's accusations, made in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, were 'not acceptable'
© Provided by Daily MailBut the remarks about Harry and Meghan's (pictured) claims drew criticism from some within the industry, including editors of publications such as the Huffington Post and the Guardian, who both said the statement did not reflect their opinion
'While I do not agree that the Society's statement was in any way intended to defend racism, I accept it could have been much clearer in its condemnation of bigotry and has clearly caused upset.
'As executive director I lead the Society and as such must take the blame and so I have decided it is best for the board and membership that I step aside so that the organisation can start to rebuild its reputation.'
It comes as yesterday editors took to Twitter to criticise the original comment, including the Guardian's Katharine Viner and the I's Oly Duff.
Mr Duff described it 'ludicrous' for the SoE to issue a 'blanket defence of all media coverage'.
Meanwhile, a an open letter signed by 167 journalists of colour was published, describing the SoE's response as 'laughable'.
The SoE, which has members from nearly 400 national and regional outlets, today appeared to pull back from the earlier comments, amid claims of a split in the executive board.
The new statement 'said the previous comments 'did not reflect what we all know: that there is a lot of work to be done in the media to improve diversity and inclusion'.
The latest comment was made by the SoE board, rather than Mr Murray - as the previous comment had been.
© Provided by Daily MailCharlene White (pictured), who was due to host the SoE's National Press Awards, pulled out, citing the comments by Mr Murray. Ms White, who is a panellist on talk show Loose Women, said: 'Perhaps it's best for you to look elsewhere for a host for your awards this year.
© Provided by Daily Mail Meanwhile, a number of publications and journalists have today decided to pull their nominations from the upcoming National Press Awards.
These include the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Yorkshire Post.
Earlier, the award's host Charlene White pulled out, citing the comments by Mr Murray.
Ms White, who is a panellist on talk show Loose Women, said: 'Perhaps it's best for you to look elsewhere for a host for your awards this year.
'Perhaps someone whose views align with yours: that the UK press is the one institution in the entire country who has a perfect record on race.'
It comes after the Duchess of Sussex accused the press of 'attacking and inciting so much racism' in its coverage of her during her explosive CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Yesterday, Piers Morgan sensationally quit Good Morning Britain hours after the launch of a social media campaign which saw more than 40,000 complaints made to Ofcom.
The tough-talking morning show host, who has helped rocket the ITV show to its highest ever viewing figures, attracted a backlash on Twitter after casting doubt over Meghan Markle's mental health claims in her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The UK's television regulator announced it would launch an investigation following a flurry of complaints, driven by a social media campaign against the broadcaster - with many linking to the Ofcom official complaints page.
Afterwards ITV CEO Carolyn McCall - who formerly worked for the left-wing Guardian newspaper - said that the broadcaster's media and entertainment MD Kevin Lygo was speaking to Mr Morgan.
It is understood Mr Morgan had been asked to apologise for his remarks yesterday which had been criticised by mental health campaigners but had declined.
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