British satellite news channel Sky News admitted Thursday that it had hacked e-mails on two occasions, claiming the action was in the public interest.

Sky News is partially owned by Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul who owns News Corp. Murdoch had been looking into completely taking over Sky News' parent company, BSkyB, but this bid could be in jeopardy now. News Corp. has had its share of media scandals recently, with one of its newspapers, News of the World, admitting to phone-hacking scandals.

One of the targets of Sky News' e-mail hacking was the 'canoe couple,' John and Anne Darwin. John Darwin faked his own death in a canoe accident in 2002 and used the life insurance money to start a new life in Panama.

"We stand by these actions as editorially justified and in the public interest," head of Sky News John Ryley said in a statement.

"We do not take such decisions lightly or frequently. They require finely balanced judgment based on individual circumstances and must always be subjected to the proper editorial controls."

Simon Cole, former managing editor at the station, announced his resignation on Thursday but insisted it had nothing to do with the fallout from the Darwin e-mail hacking. He said he had been planning on retiring for some time in a post on Twitter.

The information gathered from the e-mails by Sky News was turned over to the police. John Darwin was sentenced to six years in prison and his wife for six and a half in 2008. Both were freed last year.

So far there have been no charges brought against Sky News or any employees. But investigations are underway to see if crimes were committed.

mz/slk (AFP, AP)