The head of the Press Complaints Commission in Britain is to step down after criticism of the agency's handling of the phone-hacking scandal.
The agency has been accused of failing to address the hacking crisis at the News of the World.
Baroness Peta Buscombe has chaired the PCC since April 2009, but has faced a backlash over the saga, which led to the closure of the News of the World.
Baroness Buscombe, 57, said she would not continue in the role when her three-year term in office ends next year.
She is a former lawyer and chief executive of the Advertising Association, who was elevated to the House of Lords in 1998.
The PCC was established in 1991 to enforce a code of practice for British newspaper and magazine publishers and editors.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron accused the PCC of being ''ineffective and lacking in rigour'' and cited the need for a new system entirely.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the agency was a ''toothless poodle''.
