BBC president resigns after it was revealed that he helped Boris Johnson get a loan

The chairman of the British corporation BBC, Richard Sharpresigned on Friday after a report found he broke rules on public appointments, having facilitated a loan to the former prime minister Boris Johnsonweeks before he nominated him for the position.

In a statement, Sharp has explained that it takes this decision in order to “give priority to the interests” of channelconsidering that this issue “could be a distraction from the good work that the corporation is doing.”

Sharp, a former director of Goldman Sachs and adviser to Johnson himself in his time as mayor of London, he had been accused of intercede for the granting of a personal loan of 800,000 pounds (900,000 euros) to the conservative leader and not declare italthough he always denied that he had incurred a conflict of interest when he took up the position, in February 2021.

However, the independent report by lawyer Adam Heppinstall has concluded that Sharp violated government rules for public appointments by failing to disclose a potential conflict of interest.

Apparently, it was at the end of 2020, when Sharp was an adviser to the Ministry of Economy. The former banker put a Canadian millionaire in contact with the chief of staff, Simon Case, so that the two could address Johnson’s financial difficulties.

Sharp had to appear before a parliamentary committee after the Sunday Sunday Times Post the connection between the two. In his deposition, he admitted that such advice went “under the radar” when declaring potential conflicts of interest.

Sharp’s job had been in jeopardy ever since, but his position became even more fragile after the scandal in March involving the network’s star presenter. Gary Linekerwho was suspended for giving his political opinions through social networks.