In the United Kingdom, Richard Sharp, the chairman of the board of the British public broadcaster BBC, has resigned. He announced it himself. Sharp had recently come under fire when it emerged that, shortly before he was appointed chairman, he was acting as a mediator for a private loan to then prime minister Boris Johnson (who in return put him forward as a candidate).

In 2021 the British public broadcaster BBC is looking for a new chairman for the Board of directors. A position of high social standing (which, moreover, does not pay badly). Richard Sharp, a former banker, is nominated by Boris Johnson, then prime minister of the United Kingdom, as the ideal candidate.

Although Johnson was probably not completely objective in his choice. The British newspaper The Sunday Times revealed that Sharp, shortly before he was appointed new chairman, had acted as a mediator for a private loan for Johnson. It was no secret that the prime minister was then short of funds, because he likes to live on a grand scale. Moreover, it was not about a small loan. Johnson borrowed a total of no less than 900,000 euros.

The question now arises whether Sharp was thanked for his cooperation with the presidency of the BBC. For example, Johnson may have exerted pressure to appoint Sharp as chairman of the BBC. William Shawcross, a senior civil servant who oversaw public appointments, investigated the matter.

The report of that investigation shows that Sharp violated the rules when he failed to report two potential conflicts of interest. Despite that violation, his appointment as chairman is not invalid, the report concludes. However, Sharp has decided to step down “to prioritise the interests of the BBC”, according to his statement.

Sharp agreed to a request to stay on until the end of June and give the government time to find a successor.