An SNP MP has called for the BBC chair to resign over facilitating a loan for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
MP for Ochil and South Perthshire John Nicolson said that BBC chairman Richard Sharp "broke the rules" and that he should resign.
MPs found that Sharp made “significant errors of judgment” by acting as a go-between for a loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.
A cross-party committee was furious that Sharp failed to declare to MPs his role in organising the arrangement when he was applying for the job of BBC chairman.
The committee said he should “consider the impact his omissions will have” on trust in the broadcaster.
They said his actions “constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals” applying for prominent public appointments.
Sharp did not arrange the loan but admitted introducing his friend Sam Blyth, a cousin of Mr Johnson who wanted to help the then-prime minister with his financial troubles, to the Cabinet Office.
A spokesman for Sharp said he “regrets” not telling MPs about his involvement with Blyth “and apologises”.
SNP MP John Nicolson, who sits on the Commons committee, said Sharp’s position is now “extremely difficult” and called fo him to resign
He told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “He has lost the trust of the BBC staff, that’s very clear, I’ve been deluged with messages from BBC staff saying they don’t see how he can head up the BBC any more.
“And he broke the rules: the rules are very clear, when you sign up for that job application you are asked if there’s anything about your relationships with anybody that could cause embarrassment.
“This has clearly caused embarrassment.
“We knew he was a big Tory donor, we knew he had given hundreds of thousands to the Conservative Party, but what he didn’t tell us was that he had facilitated an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson, the prime minister, who then gave him the job.
“It’s all a bit banana republic.”
Sharp was named as the preferred candidate for the BBC job in January 2021 and the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee backed his appointment but crucially they were not aware of his role in facilitating the £800,000 loan guarantee.
In a strongly-worded report they have now suggested Mr Sharp’s failure to come clean could damage the BBC.
The MPs said: “Richard Sharp’s decisions, firstly to become involved in the facilitation of a loan to the then-prime minister while at the same time applying for a job that was in that same person’s gift, and then to fail to disclose this material relationship, were significant errors of judgment, which undermine confidence in the public appointments process and could deter qualified individuals from applying for such posts."
The committee concluded: “Mr Sharp should consider the impact his omissions will have on trust in him, the BBC and the public appointments process.”
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