BBC chairman Richard Sharp resigns after Boris Johnson loan row

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We're going to end our live coverage soon, so let's recap what happened today:

• BBC chairman Richard Sharp resigned after he broke rules over dealings with Boris Johnson ahead of his appointment to the role
• A report found he created the appearance of a conflict of interest by not fully disclosing his knowledge of the ex-prime minister's personal finances
• His position was scrutinised after it emerged he tried to secure a high-level government meeting for Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, who was offering Johnson financial help
• As he resigned, Sharp defended his conduct but said he didn't want to be a distraction
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is friends with Sharp, said the process for finding his replacement will go through the established appointments process
• Opposition parties say Sunak should have sacked Sharp sooner and called for the BBC's new chair to be appointed independently from government.

See how Sharp was connected to the key players below:

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The SNP's culture spokesman John Nicolson says Richard Sharp should've resigned weeks ago, "instead of leaving the BBC rudderless and the staff in limbo".

Nicolson, who sits on the parliamentary committee which scrutinised Sharp's appointment, says whoever replaces him "should not be a Tory Party donor".

His comments chime with Labour and the Lib Dems, who have both said Rishi Sunak should've sacked Sharp before and have called for the BBC chairman to be appointed by an independent panel, rather than the government.

The process of appointing the next BBC chair awaits. It will be heavily scrutinised, not least because the chair is appointed for a four-year term.

With a general election due by 2025, they will still be in office to work with whoever forms the next government.

There have been plenty of chairs who have had political connections in the past, so the question for Downing Street will be whether it continues in that tradition or opts for somebody with less obvious party connections.

In case you missed it earlier, you can watch BBC chairman Richard Sharp's four-minute resignation in full below:

More from the prime minister who is currently in Scotland. Rishi Sunak says he has not spoken to Richard Sharp.

He adds: "I haven't seen the report but I understand he tendered his resignation to the secretary of state and she has accepted it."

Sunak says it's right to turn to the "established" appointments process regarding the next chair of the BBC.

Asked whether he could guarantee whether Sharp's replacement would be a non-political appointment, Sunak replies: "We're jumping ahead of it.

"There's an established appointments process for all these things and it will be right that we turn to that when the time is right."

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If you’re just joining us, let’s bring you up to speed with this story.

Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC after a report found he had broken transparency rules over his dealings with Boris Johnson.

The report said one of the breaches related to Sharp telling Johnson he wanted to apply for the chairman job before he did so - the ultimate decision to appoint the chair lies with the prime minister. The second involves Sharp telling Johnson that he intended to set up a meeting between the country's most senior civil servant and a Canadian millionaire who wanted to help the PM with his finances.

Labour said Sharp should have been sacked weeks ago, with the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey saying "the British people won't stand for any more of this".

Rishi Sunak, who is friends with Sharp, told reporters that he wouldn’t "prejudge" the process of deciding Sharp’s replacement. Sharp will stay in the role until June when his successor will take over.

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This whole story centres around a loan for Boris Johnson.

While he was prime minister, he was offered a loan of up to £800,000 to top up his income. BBC chairman Richard Sharp put a senior civil servant in touch with a Canadian multimillionaire who wanted to act as a loan guarantor for Johnson.

There's no doubt Johnson had to take a big pay cut when he gained high office.

Before entering No 10, Johnson had a lucrative career as a journalist, public speaker and TV personality, with his employment and earnings totalling about £800,000 in the 2017-2019 session of Parliament.

When Johnson first became PM in July 2019, he claimed a total salary of £154,908, on top of other sources of income - far above the median UK pay packet, which was £33,000 in 2021.

During his time at No 10, there was speculation Johnson was short of cash to cover childcare and divorce costs, among other bills - which could help explain the loan.

A spokesperson for Johnson has said he withdrew far less than £800,000 from the loan, which was described as a credit facility.

Read more here.

A little earlier we heard from the shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, who said the BBC was "far too important" for the government to appoint its "mates" to the board and to the role of chairman.

Labour's Powell also said the broadcaster should not be "tarnished and trashed" by government actions.

Watch what she had to say below:

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The acting chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs says Richard Sharp's failure to disclose two conflicts of interest when he interviewed for BBC chairman has caused "undoubted damage" to public trust in the BBC.

Conservative MP Damian Green says this "could all have been avoided had he chosen to be more open with the facts" when he first appeared before the committee more than two years ago.

Green continues:

Quote Message: Sharp's resignation shows that pre-appointment hearings should not be seen by candidates as a minor inconvenient hurdle to be brushed aside, but as an important part of a process to ensure the right person is appointed to the job.

Sharp's resignation shows that pre-appointment hearings should not be seen by candidates as a minor inconvenient hurdle to be brushed aside, but as an important part of a process to ensure the right person is appointed to the job.

Quote Message: We hope that lessons have been learnt by all those involved so that future appointments are not clouded in the same way and people can have faith in those chosen for public positions."

We hope that lessons have been learnt by all those involved so that future appointments are not clouded in the same way and people can have faith in those chosen for public positions."

The committee concluded in February that Sharp had made "significant errors in judgement" for failing to disclose any involvement in the facilitation of a loan for then-PM Boris Johnson.

Green adds that the committee will be "looking closely" at the process when the next chair is selected and appointed.

When Richard Sharp opened the door to his house in west London yesterday afternoon and saw Tim Davie standing there - was that the moment the BBC chairman realised he had to resign?

We know the director general was there, because we had a camera operator outside the house.

This was after news broke that the report by Adam Heppinstall KC was about to come out.

We also know the BBC board had by then seen the full report.

But up until very recently, I understand Sharp was not planning to resign. In fact, quite the opposite.

So what changed? Read more here.

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Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor at the Sunday Times, was the journalist who first revealed the claims against former BBC chairman Richard Sharp.

He told the BBC earlier that today's report "crystallised what we've long known to be the case".

Pogrund said other candidates for the position of BBC chairman were told "not to bother" applying for the role just before Sharp was appointed.

"It was always clear that Boris Johnson had Sharp in mind," he added. "Sharp had intimate knowledge and was in fact involved in negotiations about underwriting the prime minister's day-to-day finances in office."

Sharp had denied any involvement in the facilitation of a loan for Johnson, and the former PM's spokesman has previously insisted he had never received or sought financial advice from Sharp.

Pogrund also claims Johnson's office originally deterred him from investigating links between Johnson and Sharp.

BBC director general Tim Davie visited Richard Sharp on Thursday - a day before he stepped down as chairman of the BBC.

A report into Sharp's appointment, published earlier today, found he had breached rules while being interviewed for his role by failing to disclose two potential conflicts of interest.

A Commons select committee report in February had already concluded Sharp made serious errors of judgement.

Throughout the row, Sharp was hanging on and saying he accepted it was an error and he had caused embarrassment to the BBC.

However, there appears to be a change of mood over the last 24 hours. Davie visited Sharp at home yesterday and we then got the resignation today.

Returning to the report into Richard Sharp's appointment, Adam Heppinstall KC reserves some of his sharpest criticism for ministers "leaking and briefing" to the press of preferred candidates for government-appointed roles.

He writes this practice should be "prohibited" for members of the government and "mitigating steps should be considered" when leaks of pre-selected candidate are given to the press.

At the time of the application process for the role of BBC chairman in October 2020, there were newspaper reports indicating that Richard Sharp was then-prime minister Boris Johnson's favoured candidate.

Heppinstall writers that this pre-briefing "may well have discouraged people from applying for this role" and undermined "efforts made to increase diversity".

Quote Message: Leaks and pre-briefing of ministers' preferred candidates for public appointments can undermine the steps taken by officials to try to ensure an appointment process is a fair and open competition, in accordance with the code."

Leaks and pre-briefing of ministers' preferred candidates for public appointments can undermine the steps taken by officials to try to ensure an appointment process is a fair and open competition, in accordance with the code."

September 2020 - Richard Sharp has a meeting with his friend, millionaire Canadian businessman Sam Blyth - a distant cousin of Boris Johnson.

Blyth says he wants to help Johnson out with his finances, after reading about the then-prime minister's financial issues in the press.

October 2020 - The recruitment process opens for the next chairman of the BBC.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Sharp is the preferred candidate of the government for the position, attributing the story to an anonymous source in government.

November 2020 - At some point before 9 November, when Sharp applied for the role of BBC chairman, he informs Johnson of his intention to apply, but cannot recall exactly when this took place.

December 2020 - Sharp raises his BBC application with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in a meeting on 4 December, with no one else present.

Case says he cannot recall what was discussed at the meeting, but does not dispute Sharp's account. His brief notes from it do not mention the BBC or any application, but do include the words "interests", "conflicts" and "disclosure", without any context about what they related to.

A 22 December Cabinet Office report informs Johnson: "Given the imminent announcement of Richard Sharp as the new BBC Chair, it is important that you no longer ask his advice about your personal financial matters."

January 2021 - Sharp is named as the government’s preferred candidate for the BBC chairman role.

February 2021 - Sharp formally takes up the role of BBC chairman, an appointment lasting four years.

January 2023 - There are allegations of cronyism when the Sunday Times reports Sharp’s involvement in the facilitation of the loan guarantee, leading to an investigation being announced by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

February 2023 - Sharp denies helping to arrange the loan when questioned by MPs. MPs publish a report stating he made "significant errors of judgement".

Earlier, Gary Lineker and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for an independent process to appoint the next chairman of the BBC in the wake of Richard Sharp's resignation. But how does the process work at the moment?

Currently, the Broadcasting Royal Charter sets out that the appointment must only be made following "a fair and open competition".

The person recommended for the position, which involves overseeing broader BBC strategy and not the day-to-day running of the organisation, is ultimately decided by the government.

But before that, the prime minister is given advice on the appointment by the culture secretary, who in turn is advised by a government-appointed panel.

The BBC chair can only be appointed or sacked by the culture secretary - but in reality, the PM has the final say.

The BBC's director general, who has ultimate editorial control over the organisation, does not have the power to remove them.

We've been combing through the report into Richard Sharp's conduct in the run up to his appointment as BBC chairman. Here are the key take-aways from the report:

• The bottom line: Sharp breached the rules of public appointments twice
• The breaches relate to his failure to disclose information to the appointments panel for the role of BBC chairman concerning his relationship with the then-PM Boris Johnson

• The first breach: Sharp informed Johnson he wished to apply for the role before he made his application
• The second breach: Sharp assisted Johnson with a "private financial matter" in a "very limited extent" by attempting to introduce millionaire Sam Blyth to the head of the civil service, Simon Case, and informing Johnson of his intentions to do this

• The two breaches were found to have created "a risk of perception that Sharp would not be independent from the former prime minister, if appointed"
• The report also found there was "a risk that members of the public might form the view that Sharp was informing the prime minister of his application because he wanted him to make a recommendation to appoint him"

• The report does not make a finding on whether Sharp actually had any intention of seeking to influence Johnson
• For Sharp's part, he does not believe the first breach constituted a breaking of the rules because he believed talking to Johnson at the time was like having a conversation with his current "boss" - he was a special economics adviser to the Treasury at the time

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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has weighed in on Richard Sharp's resignation, calling for the BBC chairman's appointment to be entirely independent of politics.

Writing on Twitter, he says: "The BBC chairman should not be selected by the government of the day. Not now, not ever."

Lineker was involved in his own BBC impartiality storm in March, after he was taken off air for tweeting a statement criticising the government's asylum plans.

At the time, critics of the BBC's handling of the row contrasted how Sharp was allowed to stay on as chairman while an investigation was taking place, while the football presenter was suspended in a very public manner.

The BBC was accused of "caving in" to pressure from the government by opposition parties, after Downing Street and numerous senior ministers weighed in to criticise Lineker.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has just been asked about Richard Sharp's resignation as chairman of the BBC.

Speaking to the media at the Scottish Conservative conference in Glasgow, Sunak said he had not seen the report into Sharp, who was a mentor of the PM when he worked as a junior banker at Goldman Sachs.

Asked about whether he could guarantee a non-political figure would replace Sharp, Sunak said: "There's an appointments process that happens for those appointments. I'm not going to prejudge that."

It's been nearly two hours since we broke the news about Richard Sharp's resignation as chairman in the wake of a report into his appointment. If you are just joining us let's have a quick recap of the key facts and reaction:

• Sharp's resignation came after a report he breached the government's code for public appointments when applying for the role of BBC chairman in November 2020
• A report found he failed to properly disclose any involvement in the facilitation an £800,000 loan guarantee for the then PM Boris Johnson
• It says he twice breached the code - first by talking to Johnson about the job before he applied, and then by assisting Johnson with a "private financial matter" in a "very limited extent"
• "These matters gave rise to a potential perceived conflict of interest," the report says, and should have been disclosed during his appointment process

• Sharp says the breach was “inadvertent and not material” but he is resigning from the BBC because the row is a "distraction from the organisation's good work"

• Both Labour and the Lib Dems say PM Rishi Sunak should already have sacked Sharp, and called for a new "independent" appointments process
• Meanwhile Downing Street insists the matter of Sharp's resignation is one for him and the BBC