BBC Chairman Richard Sharp has quit after a report found he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan for Boris Johnson. 9News
The publicly funded national broadcaster has been under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharp helped arrange the line of credit weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government's recommendation.
"There is a risk of a perception that Mr. Sharp was recommended for appointment because he assisted … the former prime minister in a private financial matter," Heppinstall wrote in his report. Sharp said he would remain in his BBC role until the end of June while the search for a successor takes place. He said he made an "inadvertent" breach of the disclosure rules and was quitting to "prioritise the interests of the BBC."
Johnson himself was forced to quit last year after a series of scandals over money, ethics and judgment became too much for his Conservative Party colleagues to bear. Johnson also was among dozens of people fined by police last year for attending law-breaking parties in government buildings during COVID-19 lockdowns. The "partygate" scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
The loan investigation is the latest uncomfortable episode for the 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by an annual £159 pound license fee paid by all households with a television and overseen by a board that includes both BBC nominees and government appointees.
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