The former BBC boss is said to have arranged a loan for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
(Photo: Reuters)
London The BBC’s chairman of the board, Richard Sharp, resigned on Friday. Earlier, an investigative report by the public service broadcaster found that the 67-year-old had failed to disclose assistance for a loan to the former British prime minister during his job interview. “I have decided that putting the interests of the BBC first is the right thing to do,” the ex-Goldman Sachs banker wrote in his resignation statement.
Sharp is accused of brokering an £800,000 loan to Johnson before the then PM nominated him for the BBC’s top post in 2021. The opposition Labor Party has long called for the resignation of the BBC boss, who donated around £400,000 to the Conservative Party before taking office.
Sharp has always denied allegations of a political deal with Johnson. The investigative report found, in his opinion, that his influence was “unintentional and not material”.
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Adam Heppinstall, who led the inquiry, disagrees: Sharp’s involvement in the loan “created a potential conflict of interest” and fueled the perception that as BBC chairman he would “not be independent of the former prime minister,” he writes Jurist. Sharp’s failure to notify the Appellate Body of the loan constitutes a violation of the governance code.
“The report is clear: Sharp broke the rules,” said Labor politician Lucy Powell. Criticism also came from the Liberal Democrats: “The BBC is being dragged through the mud by the Conservative Party after another sleazy scandal,” said their chairman Ed Davey.
Culture Minister Lucy Frazer announced that the BBC would name a successor by the end of June. Until then, Sharp should remain in office.
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