Labour, the opposition in England is asking for a parliamentary investigation into claims that Boris Johnson secured a loan guarantee, with help from Richard Sharp the chairman of the BBC. This help was taken weeks before Johnson, who was the then Prime Minister of UK, recommended him for the chair.
The Sunday Times reported that Mr. Sharp, who is a conservative donor, arranged a guarantor for the then PM for up to £800,000. He was applying to be the Chairman of BBC, at that point of time and had contacted the then cabinet secretary–Simon Case.
The outlet also said that the Cabinet Office had sent a letter that asked Mr. Johnson not to seek Mr. Sharp’s advice for his personal finances as the appointment for the BBC Chair was to take place, at that time.
The Times also reported that Mr. Sharp, Mr. Blyth and the then PM Johnson were at Checkers for dinner, before the loan guarantee had been finalized. They denied that Johnson’s loan was discussed at that dinner. Mr. Blyth is a distant cousin of Mr. Boris Johnson.
The Sunday Times says that it is required that candidates who apply for publicly-appointed roles need to declare conflicts of interest.
Mr. Sharp released the following statement, “There is not a conflict of interest when I simply connected, at his request, Mr. Blyth with the cabinet secretary and had no further involvement whatsoever.”
Mr. Johnson’s spokesman said that he had not received any financial advice from Mr. Sharp. The former PM is currently on a visit to Ukraine and has been photographed in Kyiv.
Labour Shadow Secretary of State, Ms. Anneliese Dodds has written a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Labour is asking for an investigation into the report by the Sunday Times.
The Shadow culture minister has written a letter asking the Commissioner for Public Appointments to investigate the selection process that took place for the appointment of the chair of the BBC.
A BBC spokesman said that the BBC played no role in the appointment of its chair and any questions about the recruitment were “a matter for the government.”
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