Richard Sharp resigns as BBC chairman following row over Boris Johnson loan

Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC in the wake of a report into his appointment following a cronyism row.

Mr Sharp said the report found he had breached the government’s code for the public appointments but said it was “inadvertent”.

The matter has been a “distraction” for the BBC, and he has therefore this morning resigned as the BBC chair.

He said he will stay on until a replacement is found.

Read the reaction and full report here – Politics Hub

“To chair this incredible organisation has been an honour,” he added.

He had been caught up in a row over his appointment into the role at the BBC since January, when he was reported to have helped facilitate an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson – just weeks before the former prime minister appointed Mr Sharp.

Mr Johnson remained tight-lipped when asked about Mr Sharp this morning as he left his home.

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An investigation into Mr Sharp’s appointment by the commissioner for public appointments was announced the same month, only for the commissioner, William Shawcross, to recuse himself from the process due to “contact” between himself and the BBC chairman.

Barrister Adam Heppinstall KC took over the probe.

This investigation was published this morning by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

It outlined how Mr Sharp told Mr Johnson he wanted to apply for the BBC chairman role in November 2020.

He also told the PM, before any interviews took place, that he was going to meet with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to attempt an introduction for Mr Johnson with someone who had made a “suggestion” that “he might assist the former prime minister with his personal finances”.

The meeting with Mr Case took place in December 2020, but the investigation did not consider or make findings about Mr Johnson’s finances.

All of these issues were not divulged to the government when applicants for the BBC chair role were asked to disclose potential conflicts of interests.

This “gave rise to a potential perceived conflict of interest” on two issues, the report found:

1) Mr Sharp’s conversation with Mr Johnson before the application that he wanted to apply;

2) Mr Sharp telling Mr Johnson that he was going to help with his personal finances.

It was concluded that these not being disclosed to the panel selecting him meant Mr Sharp breached the code.

The inquiry found it could be perceived that Mr Sharp was given the job because he helped the prime minister with a financial matter, and he may not be independent of Number 10.

Mr Sharp said he “wished” he had told the panel about the potential perceived conflicts of interest – although according to the report, he disagreed with the finding that point 1) led to a conflict of interest.

The report also found that Number 10’s support for Mr Sharp was relayed to the government department dealing with the appointments process.

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Rishi Sunak – who used to work for Mr Sharp at Goldman Sachs – previously declined to respond to questions about their relationship or Mr Sharp’s integrity.

He told reporters: “Richard Sharp went through an independent appointments process at the time that I had nothing to do with – he was appointed before I was prime minister.

“But also the chair of public appointments has asked a leading KC to review – to re-review – that appointments process so there is not much I can say more that’s ongoing, but it’s right that process concludes.”

Labour said the saga has caused “untold damage” to the reputation of the BBC and “seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservatives’ sleaze and cronyism”.

In a letter to Mr Sharp, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer thanked him for his work, and noted that he is “held in high regard by the BBC board”.

She accepted that Mr Sharp will stay in place until the next BBC board meeting on 27 June this year.

The BBC board released a statement which said they believed Mr Sharp was “a person of integrity”.

Mr Sharp faced renewed scrutiny after the backlash against the BBC’s decision to take Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker off-air for his tweets over the government’s immigration policy. Critics questioned Mr Sharp’s impartiality, in the context of the row about Lineker’s views.

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