BBC Chair Richard Sharp Resigns After Report Finds He Broke Rules Over Boris Johnson Loan Scandal
deadline.comBBC Chair Richard Sharp has resigned after a report found he breached appointment rules by failing to declare his role in the Boris Johnson loan scandal.
In a statement given prior to the release of the long-awaited report, Sharp said the conclusion by Adam Heppinstall KC had found that he had “breached the code for public appointments” and he is resigning “to prioritise the interests of the BBC.” He defended himself, however, adding that the breach was “inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate,” but accepted that “this may may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my [four-year] term.” He has submitted his resignation to UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, with the report having not actually recommended that he resign.
Sharp will remain in post until the end of June while the process to appoint his successor takes place, which the BBC Board has begun.
The Sunday Times broke the news several months ago that Sharp had helped facilitate an £800,000 ($1M) loan guarantee for Boris Johnson via Johnson’s distant cousin, Sam Blyth, in the weeks before he became BBC Chair.
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