By Andy Fry
BBC chairman Richard Sharp is under pressure this… following a critical report by a committee
of UK Members of Parliament into the nature of his appointment. The DCMS committee said
that Sharp made “significant errors of judgement” when failing to declare his role in facilitating
a loan to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The opposition Labour Party has called his
position “increasingly untenable”.
The BBC chairman has been under the spotlight for weeks following revelations in The Sunday
Times that he paved the way for Johnson to receive an £800,000(US$969,260.00) loan from
businessman Sam Blyth. Soon after, he was named BBC chairman by Johnson. Sharp has
maintained that he did not help arrange a guarantee on the loan or give the former PM
financial advice. However, he has apologised for not being more open.
In the report, published on Sunday, the committee said Sharp needed to “reflect on the
potential damage caused to trust in the corporation”.
Acting chair of the DCMS committee Damian Green MP said: “The public appointments process
can only work effectively if everyone is open and transparent, yet Richard Sharp chose not to
tell either the appointment panel or our Committee about his involvement in the facilitation of
a loan to Boris Johnson. Such a significant error of judgment meant we were not in the full
possession of the facts when we were required to rule on his suitability.”
The committee report is not the end of the saga for Sharp. The Office of the Commissioner for
Public Appointments is still looking into his appointment process. The BBC is also conducting its
own review over any potential conflicts of interests.
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