BBC Chairman Quits Over Loan Deal For Ex-PM Boris Johnson

The embattled chairman of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), Richard Sharp, resigned on Friday after a report found he failed to disclose his involvement in facilitating a loan of almost $1 million to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Peter Wilkinson reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: Embattled BBC Chairman, Richard Sharp had been under pressure to resign after it was reported he acted as a middleman when Johnson was looking to secure the loan, weeks before the then-PM appointed Sharp to his post in 2021.

Sharp claimed the breach was “inadvertent and not material,” but said he was resigning to “prioritize the interests of the BBC.”

He had previously denied involvement in the arrangement, or the existence of a conflict of interest as the loan happened before his appointment as head of the public broadcaster, the Associated Press (AP) and UK’s Press Association (PA) also reported.

Adam Heppinstall’s report found Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest” to the cross-party panel of MPs which advised ministers on who to appoint.

“There may well have been a risk of a perception that Sharp would not be independent from the former Prime Minister, if appointed,” the report said. “Both these non-disclosures caused a breach of the Governance Code because the Panel was unable at the time to advise Ministers on these matters.”

The former banker had been under pressure to resign after it was reported he acted as a middleman when Johnson was looking to secure the loan, weeks before the then-PM appointed Sharp to his post in 2021.

Sharp told lawmakers in February he “didn’t arrange the loan,” suggesting he acted as a “sort of introduction agency,” Lindsay Isaac also reported for CNN.

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