BBC chairman helped Boris Johnson get $990,000 loan before getting job – report

BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped arrange a loan guarantee of up to £800,000 ($990,000) for Boris Johnson weeks before the then Prime Minister recommended him for the broadcaster’s role, according to a new report.

Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, was involved in late 2020 talks to finance the former prime minister’s lifestyle. Johnson was struggling financially at the time due to a divorce, childcare costs and bills for renovating his Downing Street flat, the Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper also reported that in 2020 Sharp met with Sam Blyth, a Canadian businessman and distant cousin of the former prime minister, who allegedly came up with the idea of ​​guaranteeing Johnson a loan facility and asked Sharp for advice on how to do the best. it goes forward. The BBC’s now chairman agreed to help Blyth and introduced him to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of public services, the newspaper reported.

The Sunday Times said Johnson, Sharp and Blyth then had dinner at Checkers, the Prime Minister’s mansion, before the loan was finalised. A month later, Sharp was announced as the government’s choice for the BBC role.

Under the broadcaster’s Royal Charter, the BBC’s chairman is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and Minister for Culture. However, the government has the final say in the appointment.

As part of this role, the BBC chairman is responsible for the company and must maintain its independence from government and oversee its overall direction.

The Sunday Times reported that Sharp did not disclose his involvement in the then prime minister’s finances to the panel that selected him for the role, and that the matter was not raised before a House of Commons select committee during his pre-appointment hearing. . in February 2021. .

Responding to the report, Sharp told the Sunday Times: “There is no conflict if, at his request, I simply connected Mr Blyth with the Cabinet Secretary and had no further involvement.”

A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC has no role in the recruitment of the chairman and all questions are a matter for the government.”

A Johnson spokesman dismissed the report as “bullshit” and said the financial settlement was correctly explained.

“Richard Sharp has never given any financial advice to Boris Johnson, and Mr. Johnson also did not take any financial advice from him,” the spokesperson said. “No payment or compensation was ever received from Boris Johnson for this or any other service to Mr Sharp.”

The opposition Labor Party reported Boris Johnson to the parliamentary standards commissioner in response to the report.

Anneliese Dodds, the leader of the Labor Party, said: “Serious questions must be asked of Johnson: why was this money never declared and what exactly did he promise these very generous friends in return for such generous loans?”