28th April, 2023
Richard Sharp on Friday resigned from his position as the chairperson of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
This comes after he was found to have violated the rules by failing to disclose his involvement in obtaining a $997,500 million loan guarantee for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Adam Heppinstall KC’s review found the former Tory donor twice breached the code governing public appointments, risking the perception he was not independent of the then-prime minister.
His review published on Friday morning said Mr Sharp risked a perception that he was recommended for the role because he assisted Mr Johnson “in a private financial matter’’ ahead of his appointment in 2021.
Mr Heppinstall also expressed concern that it would be perceived that he influenced Mr Johnson to recommend him by informing him of his application prior to submitting it.
Failure to disclose both issues was found to have caused breaches of the governance code for public appointments.
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,’’ the former Goldman Sachs banker added.
“I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work where 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.’’
Sharp spared forcing Rishi Sunak to decide on his fate by announcing he will stand down from the influential role at the end of June.
dpa/NAN