Richard Sharp has resigned as BBC chairman after conceding a report found he breached the governance code for public appointments.
He announced on Friday morning that he will stand down at the end of June after reading the findings of barrister Adam Heppinstall KC’s review into his appointment, which has just been published.
The report was ordered after it emerged he played a role in facilitating an £800,000 loan guarantee for then prime minister Boris Johnson before being recommended for the influential role overseeing the public broadcaster’s independence.
In a statement, he said: “Mr Heppinstall’s view is that while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.
“Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate. The Secretary of State has consulted with the BBC Board who support that view.
“Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC.
“I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term.
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
“I have therefore this morning resigned as BBC Chair to the Secretary of State, and to the Board.”
Adam Heppinstall report into the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC Chairman found he “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest”
In his report, barrister Adam Heppinstall KC recommended a “review of current conflict of interest guidance for candidates to ensure it is fit for purpose. This might include a new section addressing relationships and interactions between candidates and appointing ministers, and how confidential or sensitive issues might be disclosed”.
He also suggests “considering advice to senior officials in relation to handling (from the perspective of a minister) potential conflicts between ministers and candidates”.
He also says that it should be considered whether changes “need to be made to the Governance Code to strengthen Section 9 (Standards in public life and handling conflicts), in consultation with the Cabinet Office”.
Richard Sharp “failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest” to the cross-party panel of MPs which advised ministers on who to appoint, Adam Heppinstall’s investigation into his appointment found.
The barrister said his “non-disclosures caused a breach of the Governance Code”.
He wrote in his report: “DCMS (Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) asked candidates to declare any potential conflicts of interest in their application and at interview. The successful candidate, Mr Richard Sharp, failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest to the Panel which interviewed candidates and advised Ministers on who to appoint.”
Mr Sharp informed the former prime minister that he wanted to apply for the BBC job before making his application in November 2020, the report continued.
Before he was interviewed, he told Mr Johnson that he was going to meet Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to try to introduce him to someone who wanted to help the then-prime minister with his personal finances.
Mr Sharp said he met Mr Case in December 2020 and “informed him of this suggestion, so that the Cabinet Secretary could ensure that any assistance given to the former Prime Minister by this third party complied with any applicable rules and so that he would have no further involvement with the matter.”
The report said: “These matters gave rise to a potential perceived conflict of interest. There is a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp was recommended for appointment because he assisted (to the very limited extent of attempting to make the introduction to the Cabinet Secretary mentioned above) the former Prime Minister in a private financial matter, and/or that he influenced the former Prime Minister to recommend him by informing him of his application before he submitted it.
“There may well have been a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp would not be independent from the former Prime Minister, if appointed.
“Both these non-disclosures caused a breach of the Governance Code because the Panel was unable at the time to advise Ministers on these matters.”
Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, said: “On behalf of the BBC Executive, I would like to thank Richard for his service to the BBC and the drive and intellect he brought to his time as chairman.
“Working with him over the last two years has been rewarding and Richard has made a significant contribution to the transformation and success of the BBC.
“The focus for all of us at the BBC is continuing the hard work to ensure we deliver for audiences, both now and in the future.”
Following Richard Sharp’s resignation as BBC chairman, the BBC Board said in a statement: “We accept and understand Richard’s decision to stand down.
“We want to put on record our thanks to Richard, who has been a valued and respected colleague, and a very effective chairman of the BBC. The BBC Board believes that Richard Sharp is a person of integrity.
“Richard has been a real advocate for the BBC, its mission and why the corporation is a priceless asset for the country, at home and abroad.
“He has always had the impartiality of the BBC and a desire to see the organisation thrive at the forefront of his work as chairman.
“We understand that the UK Government is moving swiftly to begin the process of appointing a new chairman of the BBC, in line with the terms of the BBC’s Charter.”
Richard Sharp’s resignation statement in full
I would like to thank Adam Heppinstall and his team for the diligence and professionalism they have shown in compiling today’s report.
Mr Heppinstall’s view is that while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.
Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate. The Secretary of State has consulted with the BBC Board who support that view.
Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC. I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term.
I have therefore this morning resigned as BBC Chair to the Secretary of State, and to the Board.
It was proposed to me that I stay on as Chair until the end of June while the process to appoint my successor is undertaken, and I will of course do that in the interests of the Corporation’s stability and continuity.
Let me turn to the events that are the subject of today’s report.
When I sought in December 2020 to introduce the Cabinet Secretary to Mr (Sam) Blyth I did so in good faith. I did so with the best of intentions.
And I did so with the sole purpose of ensuring that all relevant rules were being followed.
I am pleased that Mr Heppinstall supports the fact that my involvement in these matters was accordingly “very limited”.
He states that he is “happy to record” that he has seen no evidence – and nor could he – to say I played any part whatsoever in the facilitation, arrangement, or financing of a loan for the former Prime Minister.
During my conversation with the Cabinet Secretary on December 4, 2020, I reminded him of the fact that I was in the BBC appointments process.
I believed, as a result of that conversation, that I had been removed from any conflict or perception of conflict. I understood this recusal to be absolute.
This was my error. In my subsequent interview with the Appointments Panel I wish, with the benefit of hindsight, this potential perceived conflict of interest was something I had considered to mention.
I would like once again to apologise for that oversight – inadvertent though it was – and for the distraction these events have caused the BBC.
For more than twenty years I have devoted time and energy to public service, whether at the Institute for Cancer Research, at the Royal Academy of Arts, on the financial policy committee of the Bank of England, or as an economic advisor to the Treasury working to protect British business, including the creative industries, during the pandemic.
For more than two years I have seen the beating heart of the BBC up close. And for all its complexities, successes, and occasional failings, the BBC is an incredible, dynamic, and world beating creative force, unmatched anywhere.
As Chair I have acted at all times in the public interest, and for the betterment of the BBC. I am proud to have fought for the recent return of Government funding for the World Service. I have been active in commissioning independent thematic reviews of BBC coverage on touchstone issues.
And I have championed the importance of the BBC as a well-funded and impartial public service broadcaster.
To chair this incredible organisation has been an honour. The BBC’s contribution to our national life is immense, its people are hardworking and brilliant, and preserving and enhancing it matters.
Thank you.
