The banker Richard Sharp has resigned as president of the BBC after a devastating report that has determined "the conflict of interest" and "the breach of the rules of public appointments", for his role as an intermediary in a personal loan of more than 900,000 euros to Boris Johnson when he was Prime Minister.
The resignation of Sharp, who was once Rishi Sunak's boss at Goldman Sachs, has left the current "premier" in a very compromised situation, a week after the resignation of his deputy prime minister Dominic Raab due to allegations of workplace harassment.
Sharp, 67, began his career at JP Morgan and has been one of the Conservative Party's largest donors in recent years (with an estimated amount of more than 450,000 euros). In January 2021 he was appointed by Boris Johnson as president of the BBC amid accusations of favoritism due to his closeness to the party.
The investigation has revealed that Sharp was the last candidate interviewed for the position, in December 2020, and that his personal offer of assistance to the "premier" for his financial problems could surface in that meeting and therefore give rise to "the perception of a potential conflict of interest.
In January 2023, The Sunday Times revealed that Sharp's appointment came after he himself promised to mediate Canadian banker Sam Blyth to grant a personal loan of 800,000 pounds to the then "premier".
In his resignation letter, Sharp admits that the internal report produced by Adam Heppinstall has stipulated "breaking the code for public appointments". The banker stressed however that it was an "involuntary" violation of the rules and that his appointment should not be invalidated. Still, he tendered his resignation on Friday morning so as not to become "a distraction" to the proper functioning of the BBC.
Sharp's resignation, which had been speculated on for more than a month, has created a great political uproar and has once again put Boris Johnson on the trigger for the scandals that plagued his tenure.
"The Sharp case has caused irreparable damage to the BBC's reputation and the independence of public television," said Labor Party spokeswoman for Culture Lucy Powell. "We are in a new case of cronyism and immorality carried out by the" tories ".
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