Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC after a report found he broke the rules by failing to disclose the role he played in helping Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan.
Adam Heppinstall KC’s review found the former Conservative donor twice breached the code governing public appointments, risking the perception he was not independent from the then-prime minister.
Mr Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has spared Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from being forced decide on his fate by announcing he will stand down from the influential role overseeing the public broadcaster’s independence at the end of June.
Read the full report and reaction here – Politics Hub
Following the publication of the report, Mr Sunak said he had not seen the report or spoken to Mr Sharp following his resignation.
The prime minister also told journalists: “When concerns are raised, it is right there is a proper process, an independent process that we don’t prejudge, we allow it to carry on, establish the facts of what happened, reach a conclusion.
“That has happened, Richard Sharp has resigned. But it is right that we do these things properly and professionally, I think most people will think that is the right thing to do.”
Asked if Mr Sharp’s replacement should be a non-political appointment, Mr Sunak said he was “focused on delivering for the British people”.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson remained tight-lipped when asked about Mr Sharp as he left his home this morning prior to the release of the report.
In his resignation statement, Mr Sharp insisted that his breach of the rules was “inadvertent and not material”.
“Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC,” he added.
“I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term.
“I have therefore this morning resigned as BBC chair to the secretary of state, and to the board.”
Read more:
Analysis: Sharp may have resigned but damage to the BBC has already been done
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Johnson has nothing to say on Sharp
Mr Sharp has said he will stay on until a replacement is found.
“To chair this incredible organisation has been an honour,” he added.
The BBC Board said this morning: “We accept and understand Richard’s decision to stand down.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie thanked Mr Sharp for his service and “the drive and intellect he brought to his time as chairman”.
Mr Sharp had been caught up in a row over his appointment into the role at the BBC since January, when it emerged he helped facilitate an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson – just weeks before the former prime minister appointed him.
Richard Sharp caved to the inevitable by resigning – but damage to the BBC has already been done
After three months of refusing to leave, Richard Sharp succumbed to what was perhaps inevitable.
His carefully choreographed TV statement was recorded before the report was even published, and he avoided the need to do an interview.
Mr Sharp has, therefore, not been held to account about the damage his behaviour and this whole row has had on the BBC’s reputation.
If there was one point Richard Sharp hoped to make in his statement, it was that his appointment was valid.
That, he suggested, was the key finding of the report by Adam Heppinstall KC.
Yes, there was a breach of the governance code, but not one that made his position untenable, Mr Sharp argued.
He claimed the breach was “inadvertent”, but notably, the KC did not make a judgment on that point.
Mr Sharp’s key message seemed to be that his departure from the corporation was of his own choosing.
But the detail of the report published by the commissioner for public appointments draws that framing into question.
He had introduced his friend Sam Blyth, a distant cousin of Mr Johnson who wanted to help him with his financial troubles, to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case ahead of being recommended for the BBC role by the government.
An investigation into Mr Sharp’s appointment by the commissioner for public appointments was announced in January only for the commissioner, William Shawcross, to recuse himself from the process due to “contact” between himself and the BBC chairman.
Mr 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.
And it considered how he met Mr Case the following month regarding the introduction to Mr Blyth over the then-prime minister’s financial affairs.
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What led BBC chair to resign?
Mr Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest to the panel which interviewed candidates and advised ministers”, the barrister ruled.
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.
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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Sky’s Rob Powell explains why the scandal matters
Mr 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.”
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.
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.
Following the release of the report this morning Lineker tweeted: “The BBC chairman should not be selected by the government of the day.
“Not now, not ever.”
