Explained: What is the Boris Johnson loan scandal that has led to BBC chairman Richard Sharp resigning?

The British Broadcasting Corporation, also better known as BBC, which has been facing a firestorm in recent days is back in the news again. This time it’s over the chairman, Richard Sharp. The 67-year-old has announced his resignation from the BBC after a report found he had breached appointment rules by failing to declare his role in a loan to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A report by Adam Heppinstall KC has found that Sharp breached the rules in failing to declare his involvement in an £800,000 (Rs 8.15 crore) loan to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson prior to his appointment. The report clearly states that Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest” to the cross-party panel of MPs which advised ministers on who to appoint for the post of BBC chairman. Sharp claimed the breach was “inadvertent and not material,” but said he was resigning to “prioritise the interests of the BBC.” He added that he had been asked to stay on until the end of June giving the government time to find a successor. Reacting to Sharp’s resignation, the BBC board said in a statement, “We accept and understand Richard’s decision to stand down. We want to put on record our thanks to Richard, who has been a valued and respected colleague, and a very effective chairman of the BBC. The BBC board believes that Richard Sharp is a person of integrity.” The statement continued that Sharp had been a “real advocate for the BBC, its mission, and why the corporation is a priceless asset for the country, at home and abroad”. But what exactly is the Boris Johnson loan matter? Does it matter that Sharp helped Johnson acquire a loan? Here’s all that we know on the matter. Who is Richard Sharp? Richard Sharp has gained worldwide fame as the chairman of the BBC. However, he was a banking giant before this. Sharp worked for more than 30 years in the financial sector, including a 23-year stint at investment giant Goldman Sachs, where he was the boss to present Prime Minister Rishi Sunak . He also worked in both commercial and investment banking for JP Morgan. Between 2013 and 2019, he was also a member of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee. In addition to this, Sharp also sits on the board of the Centre for Policy Studies, the think tank founded by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. His appointment in 2021 as the BBC chairman post came at a crucial time for the British broadcaster ; the network faced scrutiny over equal pay, diversity, free TV licences for the over-75s and competition from streaming services like Netflix. [caption id=“attachment_12521722” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prior to his appointment as BBC chairman in 2021, Richard Sharp had an illustrious 23-year career in banking. Image Courtesy: Department for Digital, Culture[/caption] As chairman, Sharp was tasked to uphold and protect BBC’s independence. Moreover, he was also responsible for that key BBC mission – to inform, educate and entertain. And for this task, he was paid £160,000 (Rs 1.63 crore) a year – an amount that he pledged to charity. His tenure as BBC chairman has been far from smooth sailing. He has come under fire over several controversies at the broadcaster, including the Gary Lineker firestorm . His position as chairman came under intense scrutiny in March following football commentator Gary Lineker’s suspension over a tweet criticising government asylum policy, a decision which triggered a wider row about BBC impartiality. Also read: Will BBC chairman Richard Sharp resign over Gary Lineker row? What’s the Boris Johnson loan scandal? But no other controversy or scandal has hurt Sharp as much as the Boris Johnson loan matter. In fact, it this very reason that Sharp has resigned from the prestigious post. The matter dates back to 2020. According to news reports, Sharp put his old friend Sam Blyth, a Canadian businessman, in touch with Boris Johnson to help out the latter, who was struggling financially. It is said that Blyth acted as a guarantor for a credit facility of up to £800,000 to Johnson. Months later, Richard Sharp was appointed to the post of BBC chairman. Now here lies the problem. The Sunday Times in January alleged that Johnson put forward the recommendation for Sharp’s appointment as chairman just weeks after the latter helped him secure a loan. For the unaware, the BBC chairman’s position is decided upon by the government of the day. [caption id=“attachment_12521742” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A screen showing a news report through the windows of the BBC, after chairman Richard Sharp announced he was quitting as BBC chairman, in London. The chairman of the BBC has resigned after a report found he breached the government rules governing public appointments. AP[/caption] Facing allegations of cronyism, a review was order into Sharp’s appointment and after months of deliberation and investigation Adam Heppinstall KC published his findings. The report said that Sharp failed to disclose two potential conflicts of interest during the application process to be BBC chair. One was that he was making introductions to help the prime minister with his “personal finances”. The second is that he had told the prime minister in advance that he wanted to be BBC chair. While Sharp accepts that he should have explained to the appointment panel that he was making an introduction to help Johnson with his finances, he doesn’t accept that telling the prime minister he wanted to be BBC chair amounts to a conflict of interest. Also read: Big Trouble for BBC in India: How the media outlet violated foreign exchange rules Is BBC’s reputation damaged? Shortly after Sharp’s resignation in the aftermath of the report, the Labour Party has said that this is a great hit to the broadcaster. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell was quoted as saying that Sharp’s breach of the rules has caused “untold damage” to the reputation of the BBC. She also called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “urgently establish a truly independent and robust process to replace Sharp to help restore the esteem of the BBC after his government has tarnished it so much.” [caption id=“attachment_12521702” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A screen inside BBC headquarters broadcasts a statement by Richard Sharp following his resignation, in London. The opposition parties in Britain, have said that the matter tarnishes the broadcaster’s reputation. Reuters[/caption] The National Union of Journalists also welcomed Sharp’s resignation. According to a report in The Guardian, Michelle Stanistreet, the union’s general secretary said: “Richard Sharp has shamefully clung to his position as chair for months, whilst all around him could clearly see his time was up. So, of course, it is a relief and proper that he has now finally resigned. “He had lost the dressing room, he had lost the respect of senior figures in the broadcasting industry and besmirched the reputation of the BBC. Now, the BBC must move on with a new chair who can help steer the corporation through difficult times and champion public service broadcasting.” When asked to comment on the matter, British prime minister Rishi Sunak, who is presently in Glasgow, said he had not seen the report into Sharp. 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.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .