Richard Sharp resigns: The Boris loan and the BBC
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 April 2023
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Richard Sharp - the embattled, embroiled BBC Chairman has resigned after a report by The Commissioner for Public Appointments found a perceived conflict of interest and a breach of the Governance Code.
But this story goes much wider than one man, one job and an £800k loan to Boris Johnson.
It asks questions of the institutions that run Britain: a 'jobs for the boys culture’, a toxic legacy bestowed by the former Prime Minister, and questions about the Cabinet Secretary’s conduct.
Where does this all leave the BBC, the Civil Service and Rishi Sunak? We discuss.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.1 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.5 | I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the corporation's good work, were I to remain in post until the end of my term. |
| 0:22.8 | I have, therefore, this morning, |
| 0:29.9 | resigned as a BBC chair to the Secretary of State and to the board. That was Richard Sharp, |
| 0:36.8 | the chairman of the BBC, who today has been forced to resign after a report found that he had breached the rules on public appointments, |
| 0:39.6 | and get this, failing to declare his connection to a secret £800,000 loan made to the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, |
| 0:49.9 | the Prime Minister, who just so happened to be involved in appointing Sharp to the BBC in the first |
| 0:55.6 | place. The BBC has had a very uncomfortable time whilst it's trying to proselytise on transparency |
| 1:02.5 | and impartiality given Richard Sharp's background. But today, the corporation has issued a formal |
| 1:07.8 | statement saying that it accepts and understands the decision and says |
| 1:12.0 | that Richard Sharp is a person of integrity, valued and respected colleague. Tim Davy, the Director |
| 1:18.4 | General, praises his drive and intellect. Well, a senior manager has sent me an emoji on my phone |
| 1:26.7 | of a cork coming out of a champagne bottle. I think that |
| 1:30.9 | is much, much more the view of staff within the BBC who just felt embarrassed about Richard |
| 1:38.4 | Sharp's presence. And I guess who could have thought the toxic effects of befriending Boris Johnson would have had such |
| 1:46.9 | ramifications nearly a year on from his departure. Well, in brackets, pretty much everyone. Welcome to |
| 1:55.5 | the newsagents. The news agents. It's Lewis. It's John. It's Emily. And we are The News Agents |
| 2:01.0 | It's Lewis, it's John |
| 2:03.0 | It's Emily |
| 2:03.6 | And we are having a special episode today |
| 2:06.1 | As you might imagine |
... |
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