Martyn Thomas has stood aside as chair of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), following the publication of Judge Jeff Blackett's review into the departure of chief executive John Steele.

The RFU Council met to discuss the implications and recommendations of Blackett's report on 10 July, but will not be making copies of the document available to the public. An "executive summary" will be released in a "timely fashion", although it was confirmed by the national governing body that Thomas had withdrawn his nomination as chair.

Thomas will, however, remain as acting chief executive officer until a permanent replacement can be found, while a Special General Meeting will be convened to appoint a new chair. Paul Murphy, acting chair of the RFU board, said: "In the end after lengthy discussion we have taken what we believe are the right decisions for the future of the game and the Union itself.

"These were difficult decisions and there was a lot at stake for us all but in the end we felt that we had to ensure our members, players, supporters and all other stakeholders could see we had taken firm action to address the issues and move forward."