The appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman after he helped Boris Johnson get a loan was "all a bit banana republic", MPs warned today.
The Tory donor faced a grilling over his failure to disclose the extent of links with the ex-PM as he was running for the job at the top of the corporation.
Mr Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, denied facilitating a £800,000 loan for Mr Johnson as he appeared before the Commons culture committee.
But he admitted introducing his millionaire pal Sam Blyth to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case after he told him he wanted to help with the PM's financial troubles.
Mr Sharp said he had acted as a “sort of introduction agency” when arranging a meeting between the two men.
Pressed by MPs, Mr Sharp admitted he had spoken to Mr Johnson about Mr Blyth's offer to help him.
“I told him that Mr Blyth wanted to support him," Mr Sharp said. "I told him that I'd advised Mr Blyth, or told Mr Blyth, that I'd informed him that there are rules in this country and that therefore, as a result of that, he should be in touch with the Cabinet Office and the result of that I was going to do so.
“I informed the Prime Minister that Mr Blyth wanted to meet the Cabinet Secretary to see if he could help the Prime Minister."
Labour MP Kevin Brennan said: “So in effect, without giving financial advice, you had discussed his finances, or rather the fact that somebody wanted to help him with his finances with the Prime Minister. That's correct, isn't it?”
Mr Sharp responded: “Correct.”
The SNP's John Nicolson, who sits on the committee, told Mr Sharp the overall impression was “all a bit banana republic”.
The MP, who previously worked for the corporation, said he had received a “huge mailbag” from furious BBC staff about the perceived conflict of interest.
"What appals, I think, so many BBC staff is that you got this job with no BBC experience," he said.
"They knew about the vast donations to the Tory party that you gave them but they didn't know about the £800,000 - something that you withheld from the interview panel, the DCMS permanent secretary and this committee.
“And I think it leaves the impression [that] so much of this is deeply establishment. It's pals appointing pals, donating money to pals.”
Mr Sharp said: “I regret the distraction this has caused. There's no doubt about that.
"I’m certainly disturbed by the fact that all the tremendous things that the BBC is doing should in any way be overshadowed by this.”
