Robert Thomson, the Editor of The Times, confirmed his departure from the newspaper today as part of a wider shake-up of its parent company, News Corporation.

In an announcement to staff on the newsroom floor, Thomson, 46, said that he was heading to New York to be publisher at Dow Jones and its flagship publication, the Wall Street Journal, News Corp's recent acquisition.

He will be succeeded by James Harding, currently the newspaper's Business and City Editor, who will take over the reins next Wednesday. Harding, 38, took up the post last August after being recruited from the Financial Times where he had been Washington bureau chief.

Thomson praised his staff both for making The Times profitable - "you've done the impossible" - and for the success of Times Online. To loud applause, he also paid tribute to the energy, passion and loyalty of his deputy, Ben Preston.

"I'll part particularly proud that Times journalism means integrity, quality and creativity and it is a beacon for people looking for the best," he said.

"James will bring verve and virtue and the highest of journalistic values to The Times and Times Online and so I will leave knowing that James will be a great custodian of a great newspaper, The Times."

News Corp announced earlier today that James Murdoch, the chief executive of BSkyB, was stepping down to take over News Corp's European and Asian operations, including its British newspaper interests. The promotion clearly positions the 34-year-old as the most likely successor to his father, the News Corp chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch.

Thomson, an Australian, was appointed Editor of The Times five years ago, before which he edited the US edition of the Financial Times. At The Times he oversaw both the newspaper's adoption of the compact format in 2004 and its successful online expansion.

Harding, who is British, studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge before learning Japanese and working as a speechwriter in the office of Koichi Kato, then Japan’s chief cabinet secretary. From 1993 to 1994, he worked in the Japan unit of the European Commission.

He joined the Financial Times as a corporate reporter in 1994 and between 1996 and 1999 was a corresponent in China, where he opened the FT's Shanghai bureau. He was appointed Washington bureau chief in April 2002, having been the FT’s media editor for three years. He speaks Japanese, Chinese, French and German.

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