Co boss steps down from role at Sony

The co-chair of Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal, has announced that she is to step down from her role at the company, amid a debilitating cyber attack that revealed a number of her private emails.

The decision has led to MS Pascal being forced to apologise for certain revelations that arose as a result of the leak, which caused the company to suspend its release of the controversial film, The Interview.

Details outlined in the emails included allegedly derogatory opinions about the viewing habits of US president Barack Obama in a message sent to producer Scott Rudin.

Ms Pascal said in a statement at the time: "The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am.

"Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologise to everyone who was offended."

Sony has since condemned the attack, but Ms Pascal has now decided to depart from her role with a view to creating her own production company, which will be launched in May 2015.

The new company will be funded by Sony for at least the next four years and will also retain distribution rights.

Sony revealed back in November that it had been hacked by a group calling themselves the Guardians of Peace (GOP), an organisation later traced back to North Korea.

Authorities in the US believe the attack was instituted in retaliation to Sony's decision to release 'The Interview', a film that depicts the killing of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un.

News of Ms Pascal's departure coincided with the company losing ground during trading in New York today (February 6th). By 14:49 GMT its shares were down by 0.89 per cent.