In order to “prioritize the interests” of the broadcaster, Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC.
The former Goldman Sachs banker has been accused of setting up a loan for Boris Johnson of up to £800,000 before the then-prime minister supported him for the BBC leadership position.
When applying for the top position at the BBC, Mr. Sharp made “significant errors of judgment” and failed to provide the “full facts,” a committee previously concluded.
He was announced as the government’s choice for the chairman role in January 2021.
Mr Sharp said he will remain in the role until the end of June while the search for a successor takes place.
In a grilling by MPs, Mr Sharp insisted his only role was as a ‘sort of introduction agency’ between his friend Sam Blyth – a Canadian businessman who is a distant cousin of Johnson – and the cabinet secretary Simon Case.
Labour had called for an investigation into Mr Sharp after allegations surfaced in The Sunday Times.
According to the newspaper, a dinner was held at Chequers before the loan was finalised.
At the time, a spokesperson for Mr Johnson dismissed the Sunday Times report as ‘rubbish’ and insisted his financial arrangements ‘have been properly declared’.
‘Richard Sharp has never given any financial advice to Boris Johnson. He did indeed have dinner with Mr Sharp, whom he has known for almost 20 years, and with his cousin. So what? Big deal.’
Earlier today, a Labour MP said Mr Sharp ‘will have to go’ if he found to have broken the code for public appointments by facilitating a loan for Mr Johnson.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh told Sky News: ‘If it is revealed that he has failed to declare the details of this loan arrangement properly or failed to be forthcoming in the process, then of course he will have to go.’
Ms Haigh said an independent panel to look into the issue of public appointments has been established in the opposition.
She added: ‘It’s been really concerning to see how the Government has sat back and done very little about the potential breaches in the process, and did nothing to help restore trust and faith in the impartiality of the BBC.
‘I think his whole saga raises wider issues around the way that the Government has approached the BBC and the particular links of the Tory party with the BBC.’