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The chairman of the board of the BBC, Richard Sharp, resigned on Friday after an investigation concluded that he had inadvertently revealed his involvement in arranging a loan of almost $1 million for the former prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Mr Sharp said in a statement, shortly before the report was released, that the removal was “unintentional and immaterial” but that he had decided to resign from the broadcaster’s board to “put the interests of the BBC first.”
His departure deepens the turmoil that has enveloped Britain’s public broadcaster in several months through accusations of political bias and questions about close ties with Britain’s Conservative government. The BBC’s role has come under relentless fire in an era of polarized politics and free-flowing social media.
It suspended its most famous on-air personality, Gary Lineker, last month after he sent a tweet comparing the government’s immigration policy to Germany in the 1930s. This prompted the BBC sports staff to walk out and force the broadcast of “Match of the Day”, the flagship weekly football programme, without comment.
The BBC resolved its dispute with Mr Lineker by vowing to review its policies governing the use of social media by on-air personalities. But the delay drew attention to Mr Sharp as he refused to resign from his job, even as he was being investigated for his role in the loan to Mr Johnson.
Mr Sharp’s compromised position also means he can’t defend the BBC when it comes to fierce criticism from all sides – for its lack of rules on social media, as well as for the settlement with Mr Lineker, which has been overwhelming. Conservatives were criticized as capitulating.
The episode prompted calls from the opposition Labor Party for Mr Sharp to resign. The current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is seen as distant from Mr. Sharp, even though the two men once worked together at Goldman Sachs, where Mr. Sunak and Mr. Sharp were both bankers.
Mr Sharp, a major donor to the Conservative Party, said he regretted not raising the loan issue with the appointments panel before taking up the chairmanship. The report found that he helped facilitate a loan guarantee worth 800,000 pounds, or $996,000, for Mr. Johnson.
“Hopefully, with the benefit of hindsight, this potential perceived conflict of interest is something I thought I’d mention,” he said in a statement. “I once again apologize for the omission – however unintentional – and for the disruption the event has caused the BBC.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie, who has come under pressure for his role in the dispute with Mr Lineker, recognized Mr Sharp “for his service to the BBC and the passion and intelligence he brought to his chairmanship.”
For all the criticism of Mr Sharp’s role in the loan to Mr Johnson, media analysts say he deserves credit for negotiating a deal with the government in January 2022 that secures the BBC’s license fee, its main source of funding, for the next one. six years.
“Mr. Sharp is the most effective chair in the most difficult time in history and guarantees the future, “said Claire Enders, a media researcher in London and founder of Enders Analysis. She said that the deal is a “miracle”, because of the hostility felt by the government against BBC.
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