The Chairperson of the UK’s national broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Richard Sharp, has been under the spotlight after it was revealed that he helped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson secure a loan of £800,000 (₹8.03 crores).
A regular donor to the Conservative Party, Sharp had reportedly introduced a ‘friend’ named Sam Blyth to Britain’s Cabinet Secretary and Head of Civil Service, Simon Case.
Interestingly, Sam Blyth is a multi-millionaire businessman, who proposed to serve as the credit guarantor for the loan sanctioned to Boris Johnson, his distant cousin. The said meeting took place in late 2020 when Johnson was Britain’s Prime Minister.
Very simple question for the Government today – as it tries to explain away the Richard Sharp story
— Harry Yorke (@HarryYorke1) January 23, 2023
Why did Boris Johnson’s *own cousin* need Sharp, who was at that point in the running to become Chairman of the BBC, to be involved and introduce him to the Cabinet Secretary? pic.twitter.com/qwgwEKsC6n
Soon after, in January 2021, the name of Richard Sharp was recommended for the Chairperson of the BBC for a four-year term by the same Johnson administration. Sharp was appointed for the position the following month.
According to The Sunday Times, the £8,00,000 loan was finalised only in February 2021 (the same month as the appointment of Richard Sharp). The BBC Chair is now being investigated for a possible ‘conflict of interest.’
In his defence, Richard Sharp said, “What I did do was to seek an introduction of Sam Blyth to the relevant official in government. We both agreed that to avoid any conflict, I should have nothing further to do with the matter. Since that meeting, I have had no involvement whatsoever with any process.”
Richard Sharp’s letter to BBC staff leaves the essential questions unanswered, writes @harrytlambert. https://t.co/PTD69VGObq
— The New Statesman (@NewStatesman) January 23, 2023
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has also dismissed allegations of quid pro quo. “Let me just tell you Richard Sharp is a good and wise man but he knows absolutely nothing about my personal finances,” he claimed.
Conservative Party leader and incumbent Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has also come out in defence of the BBC Chair. He remarked, “It is transparent and published online and Mr. Sharp’s appointment went through that full process.” Interestingly, Rishi Sunak served under Richard Sharp at his former workplace, Goldman Sachs.
BBC CHAIRMAN RICHARD SHARP was also Rishi Sunak’s boss at Goldman Sachs
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) January 23, 2023
Just saying pic.twitter.com/AKF9wXXktV
On Monday (January 23), William Shawcross, the Commissioner for Public Appointments shared that a review will be conducted to ensure that all rules were followed during the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC Chair.
In a letter to Member of Parliament Lucy Powell, he said, “The role of the commissioner is to oversee the public appointments process and ensure appointments are made fairly, openly and on merit”
“I intend to review this competition to assure myself and the public that the process was run in compliance with the government’s governance code for public appointments, using my powers under the order in council 2019 and the governance code,” William Shawcross further emphasised.
The Commissioner has written to Lucy Powell MP to confirm he will be reviewing the competition for the BBC Chair appointment to ensure it was conducted in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
— Public Appointments (@publicapptscomm) January 23, 2023
BBC releases controversial documentary series on PM Modi
Recently, BBC aired a two-part documentary attacking PM Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. India has denounced the controversial program as a “propaganda piece” that is designed to push a discredited narrative.
One of the nefarious objectives behind the documentary was to whitewash the role of Islamists in the Godhra train carnage, which claimed a total of 59 Hindu lives.
It further used the already discredited statements of Sanjiv Bhatt and RB Sreekumar to attack the Indian Prime Minister. BBC even used the claims of Babu Bajrangi and Haresh Bhatt, who have admitted that they were reading the script given by a journalist, to try and declare PM Modi guilty.
