BBC The chairman is set to face fresh pressure to resign over a “scorching” report by MPs which is expected to criticize his role in the £800,000 debt boris johnson,
Independent learned that the powerful Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee will face strong criticism richard sharp for his conduct.
MPs are understood to accuse him of failing to come clean about his part in arranging the loan.
The investigation was launched after it emerged that Mr Sharp, who was backed by Mr Johnson for the BBC job, was involved.
The report also set out to reprimand Mr Sharpe for his apparent lack of remorse during a Violent encounter with MPs earlier this week,
Although the committee will not ask him to resign, his findings are considered so scathing that it will raise questions about his continued position at the BBC.
last week mr sharpe admitted They acted as a kind of “introduction agency”. To help arrange the loan.
In a hearing before the committee on Tuesday, he admitted he had introduced his friend Sam Blyth, a relative of Mr Johnson, to cabinet secretary Simon Case after Mr Blyth suggested he help with the prime minister’s money issues. Can
Mr Sharpe, a major Conservative donor who has given more than £400,000 to the party, Denied it had facilitated a loan for Mr Johnson,
But he admitted he had visited the prime minister to discuss the BBC job before applying, although he insisted their relationship was “widely professional”.
He said he was trying to ensure the correct due process was followed when he introduced Mr Blyth to the Cabinet Office and denied he had given any personal financial advice to Mr Johnson.
Mr Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, told MPs: “I’ve had a lot of time over the past few weeks to reflect on whether all the rules had been followed and I wish we weren’t where we are now. Well acted I believe and no regrets in that sense but I could clearly say to Blythe, ‘Find your way to Mr. Case.'”
He later said he also regretted the “embarrassment for the BBC”.
But he insisted that during the process he found out about his current role, he was “subject to a very rigorous interview process” and was hired “on the basis of merit”.
The report is expected to criticize Mr Sharpe’s role in the £800,000 loan to Boris Johnson.
(PA Wire)
But Labor MP Kevin Brennan, a member of the committee, accused him of a “monumental failure of judgement” for not telling them about the loan arrangement at a pre-appointment hearing last January.
That session was before Mr Sharpe took over as BBC chairman. But he was brought before the committee again after the Sunday Times revealed details of Mr Johnson’s involvement in debt.
Committee chairman Damian Green said ahead of Tuesday’s hearing that MPs wanted to “establish that … everything we should have known was kept from us”.
Official guidance issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) on conflicts of interest in public appointments also warns against their “perception” and says it is therefore essential that all potential conflicts are declared.
It reads: “Even a perception of a conflict of interest in relation to a Board member can be extremely damaging to the reputation of the body and it is therefore essential that these are declared and discovered in the same manner as actual conflicts. The fact that a member has acted impartially does not avoid allegations of bias.
The document warns that it is “necessary for the standing of the person and the board that members of the public have confidence in their independence and impartiality.”
Public Appointments Commissioner William Shawcross was to investigate Mr Sharpe’s appointment as BBC chairman.
However, he has distanced himself from this, saying that he had met Mr Sharpe “on previous occasions”.
Solicitor Adam Heppinstall Casey has now been appointed to lead the investigation.
The BBC is also investigating after Mr Sharp announced he had referred himself to the broadcaster’s board’s nominations committee.