The selection of the next BBC chair must be “free of the cronyism and sleaze” that forced Richard Sharp to quit, Labour demanded yesterday.
The call comes amid growing pressure for Tory ministers to be banned from “interfering” in the selection process, while Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell called for a “root and branch review” of the appointments process.
Mr Sharp resigned after a report found he had failed to properly declare his involvement in helping then PM Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan.
Ms Powell has also demanded to know whether he was given a payout after quitting his top job on Friday.
In a letter to her Tory counterpart Lucy Frazer, she wrote: “Conservative Prime Ministers giving jobs to friends has done untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and undermined its independence. I am concerned the appointment of Sharp’s successor could be mired in the same cronyism and sleaze that led to the current mess and I would like reassurances that the process will be made more independent.”
Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby wants a cross-party commission to appoint the next chair, and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker tweeted: “The BBC chairman should not be selected by the government of the day. Not now, not ever.”
Before his appointment as BBC Chair, Mr Sharp spoke to the Cabinet Secretary about his friend, Canadian millionaire Sam Blyth’s offer to help Mr Johnson with his financial troubles.
Sir Peter Heppinstall’s report found Mr Johnson had recommended Mr Sharp for the influential job after Mr Sharp told the then-PM the meeting was to take place.
Sir Peter also noted the "curiously murky" exchanges between Mr Sharp and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and questioned whether the Cabinet Office should have told colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport scrutinising Mr Sharp's appointment about "what was happening with the private finances".
The Sunday Mirror revealed last week that Mr Johnson had spent the Easter break at Mr Blyth’s £5,000-a-night villa in the Dominican Republic, his second holiday there in less than a year.
Labour MP David Lammy called for a “formal investigation” into the affair.
He said: "We’ve had 13 years of the Tories looking after their mates rather than working people. There remain serious questions to be answered about how the Canadian businessman, distant cousin of Boris Johnson and guarantor of Johnson's credit facility, Sam Blyth, appeared on the recommendation list to become chief executive of the British Council in the first place.
"There now needs to be a formal investigation into how this happened. Tory sleaze and cronyism has already caused huge damage to the reputation of the BBC.
"The government now needs to come clean about how candidates were selected for the leadership of another great British institution, the British Council."
The report noted the support Mr Sharp received from Downing Street during the hiring process, with No 10 telling MPs interviewing candidates that he "looked like a strong candidate"
In her letter, Ms Powell urged the government to confirm steps will be taken to ensure Ministers don’t “pre-select” their favourite candidates and “brief names to the media”.
And she demanded to know whether Rishi Sunak will get the final say on Mr Sharp’s successor.
She added: “To move on from this Tory inspired saga, and restore the BBC’s esteem, the Government must run a fully independent, robust and transparent appointments process for the next BBC Chair and Board member.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: "The Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments report makes clear that DCMS ran the process to appoint the Chair of the BBC in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
"The BBC Royal Charter sets out that the Chair of the BBC must be appointed in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which clearly states that the ultimate responsibility for public appointments lies with Ministers.
"The Government is carefully considering the findings of the Committee’s report and will respond in due course."
