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Independence of Reuters
Customers in all parts of the world depend on Reuters to provide them with reliable and objective news and information.

Reuters therefore has a special need to safeguard its independence and integrity and avoid any bias which may stem from control by specific individuals or interests. Reuters share structure includes two mechanisms designed to prevent this happening:

• Limitation on shareholdings:
  Reuters constitution requires that no person may be interested in 15% or more of Reuters issued shares. If any person does become interested in 15% or more of Reuters issued shares, then the Reuters directors must serve a notice requiring that person to make a disposal of sufficient shares to take that person's interest below 15% again.
  
  
• The Founders Share:
  In addition to Reuters publicly traded shares, there is a single Founders Share, which carries certain voting powers. The Founders Share is owned by Reuters Founders Share Company Limited, a private company registered in England, established in 1984 at the time of Reuters public flotation on the London stock exchange and Nasdaq. If the directors of Reuters Founders Share Company believe that any person, together with any associates, is seeking to obtain or has obtained control of Reuters, they may require the special voting rights attaching to the Founders Share to be exercised. "Control" for this purpose means the ability to control the exercise of 30% or more of the votes which may be cast on a poll at general meetings of Reuters Group PLC. In such circumstances, Reuters Founders Share Company, through the exercise of these special voting rights, has the right to cast sufficient votes at any general meeting of Reuters Group PLC to pass any resolution supported by, and to defeat any resolution opposed by it.
  
  In addition, the directors of Reuters Founders Share Company may require the votes attaching to the Founders Share to be cast against any resolution which would alter any of the Articles of Association of Reuters Group PLC relating to the Reuters Trust Principles -

The Reuters Trust Principles
Reuters is dedicated to preserving its independence, integrity and freedom from bias in the gathering and dissemination of news and information.

Under the constitution of the Reuters Founders Share Company, the directors of Reuters Founders Share Company are required to act generally in accordance with the Reuters Trust Principles, and to endeavour to ensure, as far as they are able by the proper exercise of the powers vested in them, that the Reuters Trust Principles are complied with.

The constitution of Reuters Group PLC requires Reuters directors, in the performance of their functions, to have due regard to the Reuters Trust Principles in so far as, by the proper exercise of their powers and in accordance with their other duties as directors, those principles are capable of being observed.

The Reuters Trust Principles are:

• that Reuters shall at no time pass into the hands of any one interest, group or faction;
• that the integrity, independence and freedom from bias of Reuters shall at all times be fully preserved;
• that Reuters shall supply unbiased and reliable news services to newspapers, news agencies, broadcasters and other media subscribers and to businesses, governments, institutions, individuals and others with whom Reuters has or may have contracts;
• that Reuters shall pay due regard to the many interests which it serves in addition to those of the media; and
• that no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products of Reuters so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business.

The directors of Reuters Founders Share Company are:

Pehr Gyllenhammar (Chairman); Len Berkowitz; The Hon Mrs Anson Chan GBM CBE JP; Sir Michael Checkland; Uffe Ellemann-Jensen; Bertrand Collomb; Sir Christopher Mallaby GCMG GCVO; Mammen Mathew; John H McArthur; The Rt Hon The Baroness Noakes, DBE; Sir William Purves CBE DSO; Jaakko Rauramo; Dr Mark Wossner; Dr Frene Ginwala, Mr Joseph Lelyveld; Mr John Fairfax; Jiri Dienstbier and Alejandro Junco.