Scoop founder back at website after resigning from Internet Party

Alastair Thompson is the editor and co-founder of Scoop.

Alastair Thompson's on again-off again political career has landed him back at Scoop, the news website he abandoned to join Kim Dotcom's political party.

New cornerstone shareholders Sublime Media - led by Selwyn Pellet and his brother Craig - today detailed their 60 per cent stake in Scoop, with the Thompson family interests retaining 20 per cent.

Thompson - formerly a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery - today broke his silence after leaving the Internet Party last week and confirming he was in talks with Sublime about resuming some role at Scoop.

Thompson apologised to friends and family for the way he handled the transition between Scoop and the party role, which was leaked to the right wing blogger Cameron Slater.

Thompson was embarrassed by the revelations, and criticised by his business partner Selwyn Pellet.

Thompson said: "I owe an apology to many people close to me, especially my wife, my family and colleagues and employees at Scoop, and to my new investors for allowing the situation that evolved rapidly and unexpectedly at the end of last year, which brought about the conflict that my resignation from the Internet Party is to resolve.

"I am determined that my error in judgement will not prevent me from rejoining the effort at Scoop to build a new independent news model that is open, democratic and
true to Scoop's stated mission of being an agent of positive change.

Sublime CEO Craig Pellet said: "As founder, editor and general manager of Scoop for the past 14 and half years, Alastair has a breadth of knowledge of the Scoop business and wider eco-system which will be hugely useful to the company as it grows and transitions over the next two years with the benefit of new investment"

Mr Thompson said it was apparent that he had to "make a choice between continuing my life's work at Scoop, into which my wife, myself and my family have invested everything over the past 17 years - or make a commitment to a political movement which is yet to mature".