- Sky News chief says its actions are "editorially justified and in the public interest"
- It authorized its journalists to hack into e-mail on two occasions, John Ryley says
- James Murdoch resigned as chairman of BSkyB, owner of Sky News, two days ago
- He wanted to shield the broadcaster from fallout from a newspaper hacking scandal
London (CNN) -- UK news channel Sky News said Thursday it had authorized its journalists to hack into the e-mail of individual members of the public on two occasions.
John Ryley, head of Sky News, said the instances involved suspected criminal activity.
"We stand by these actions as editorially justified and in the public interest," he said in a statement. "We do not take such decisions lightly or frequently."
An external review is under way of e-mail records at the broadcaster at its own instigation, he said, but no grounds for concern have yet been found.
"Sky News is committed to the highest editorial standards. Like other news organizations, we are acutely aware of the tensions that can arise between the law and responsible investigative journalism."
James Murdoch resigns as BSkyB chairman 
Investor reacts to James Murdoch exit 
How phone hacking rocked Britain The news comes only two days after James Murdoch -- the son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch -- stood down as chairman of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, which owns Sky News, part of the News Corp. empire.
His resignation came amid accusations that News Corp.'s British Sunday tabloid the News of the World systematically eavesdropped illegally on crime victims, politicians, celebrities and veterans, in search of stories.
Murdoch has consistently denied knowing about the scale of phone hacking at the paper, which he ordered shut down last summer in the face of the scandal.
He referred to it in his resignation statement, saying: "I am determined that the interests of BSkyB should not be undermined by matters outside the scope of this company."
He made clear he was trying to shield the satellite broadcaster from fallout from the newspaper scandal, saying: "I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organization."
Ryley, in his statement Thursday, said a journalist had been authorized on two occasions to access the e-mail of individuals suspected of criminal activity.
One case was that of Anne Darwin, he said. The British woman's husband faked his death on a canoe trip in order to falsely claim life insurance payments. Sky News then passed the e-mails to the local police force, he said.
"Material provided by Sky News was used in the successful prosecution and the police made clear after the trial that this information was pivotal to the case," Ryley said.
CNN's Bharati Naik contributed to this report.
