Webdesk: The BBC’s chairman quit on Friday after a report said he broke the government’s rules for public appointments by taking out a loan.
Barrister Adam Heppinstall’s report said that Richard Sharp get the job in the autumn of 2020 because he helped then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson get a loan in a “very limited” way.
Sharp looked into because its said that he helped Johnson get a loan guarantee for £800,000 ($995,000). A few weeks before Johnson made him chair of the BBC.
The report also said that Sharp told Johnson that he wanted to run for BBC chairman in November 2020, but that if he got the job, he wouldn’t be free from the prime minister.
“I always said that the breach was an accident and didn’t matter,” Sharp said in a televised statement after the report came out. “The facts he lays out prove that I was right.”
“However, I have decided that it is best to put the BBC’s interests first. If I stay in my job until the end of my term, I think this issue could get in the way of the good work the company is doing.
Tim Davie, the head of the BBC, thanked Sharp for his service and the “drive and intelligence” he brought to the company. “Working with him over the last two years has been rewarding, and Richard has made a big difference in the success and change of the BBC,” he said.
