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BBC chief resigns/ He did not declare his role over a loan taken by Boris Johnson

2023-04-28 19:30:03, Kosova & Bota CNA

BBC chief resigns/ He did not declare his role over a loan taken by Boris

BBC boss Richard Sharp

BBC chief Richard Sharp resigned on Friday after an independent investigation concluded he had broken rules by failing to declare a potential conflict of interest over his role in securing a $1m loan. for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

His departure comes at a time when attention has grown over the impartiality of Britain's publicly funded public broadcaster. Last month the BBC was at the epicenter of the first headlines due to the criticism of the famous sports presenter Gary Lineker of the government's policies on migration.

Lord Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and donor to the ruling Conservative Party, took over the BBC in 2021.

Since February this year, he has been under pressure after a committee of lawmakers issued a report saying he had made "serious errors of judgment" by failing to declare that he was involved in the loan issue from Mr. Johnson.

Mr Sharp has agreed to remain in office until the end of June until his replacement is appointed.

Although the head of the BBC is appointed by the government, the independence of the broadcaster is an important element that makes it play a central role in British cultural life. The BBC is funded by a fee paid by British households (television tax).

Opposition Labor Party culture spokeswoman Lucy Powell said the Conservative government's "immoral approach and cronyism' had damaged the BBC's reputation. She added that "a truly independent and fair process was needed strong" in appointing Mr Sharp's successor.

Asked by reporters whether the new head of the BBC should be a non-political appointment, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who worked with Mr Sharp at Goldman Sachs, said: "There is a clearly defined process on appointments and we will it would be good to deal with this issue at the right time".

Questions about the BBC's impartiality are just one of the challenges facing the broadcaster. The public broadcaster is struggling to maintain influence with a younger audience that no longer watches television, among other problems related to budget cuts.

Investigation of public appointments

The investigation, launched by the public appointments watchdog, looked into how Mr Sharp was chosen by the government to head the broadcaster.

In particular, it examined whether Mr Sharp had disclosed all the details of his role in facilitating an £800,000, or $1m, loan from Mr Johnson before he was appointed head of the BBC. .

The inquiry found that Mr Sharp had breached the government's code of public appointments, but this breach did not necessarily invalidate his appointment. Mr Sharp has said his actions were "unintentional and without material gain".

But he still said he believed staying until the end of his four-year term would create a distraction from the "good work" the broadcaster does.

" I consider it right to put the interests of the BBC first ," Mr Sharp said in a statement. " So, this morning I resigned as head of the BBC ".

The report mentions that Mr Johnson's office, when he was prime minister, recommended Mr Sharp as "a strong candidate" for the job of BBC boss, out of 23 applications for the post.

Mr Sharp has maintained that he was not involved in making the loan or arranging a guarantee on the loan, but that he had done nothing more than introduce Canadian businessman Sam Blyth to a government official at the end of the year. 2020.

Andrew Heppinstall, who conducted the investigation, said he was "happy to note" in the report that he had seen no evidence that Mr. Sharp had played any role in Mr. Johnson's private financial affairs, other than the attempted introduction to the Canadian businessman./ VOA