In January 2021 it was announced that he would be the next chairman of the BBC, succeeding
David Clementi who was due to leave the position the following month. Speaking shortly after his appointment, Sharp told the
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that he planned to give his £160,000 BBC salary to charity.
Conservative donations In January 2023,
The Guardian reported that Sharp had donated more than £400,000 to the
Conservative Party and that he was a former director of the
Centre for Policy Studies, a think tank created by
Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s with historical links to the Conservative Party. The appointment followed that of
Tim Davie, a former Conservative Party council candidate, to the role of
Director-General.
Diane Coyle, formerly of the BBC Trust, stated in January 2023 that Sharp should never have even been on the selection panel. In January 2023,
The Sunday Times reported that just weeks before Sharp was announced as BBC chairman, he helped the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, secure an £800,000 loan. Sharp helped connect Johnson with Sam Blyth, a multimillionaire Canadian businessman and one of Johnson's distant cousins, who acted as a guarantor. Sharp did not disclose any involvement with Johnson's financial arrangements during the interview process, nor at a hearing before a select committee. He acknowledged that he "connected" Johnson and Blyth but denied that this was a
conflict of interest. Replying to a question about this from
Sky News, Johnson said that Sharp knew nothing about his personal finances. Following the story, the
Labour Party called for an investigation into Sharp's appointment as chair of the BBC and suggested that the Prime Minister had breached the code of conduct. The accusations have been dismissed by the Cabinet Office via a spokesperson and members of the government have maintained that Sharp was hired on merit. The Board of the BBC was reviewing potential conflicts of interest, but Sharp has stated that he would not quit his position. Writing in
The Guardian on 24 January 2023,
Roger Bolton drew parallels with the controversy over the appointment by the
Tony Blair Labour government, of
Gavyn Davies as chairman of the BBC in 2001. Sharp's failure to tell the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of his discussions was examined at their meeting on 7 February 2023. The Committee concluded that this omission prevented appropriate scrutiny. The cross-party committee stated Sharp failed to provide "the full facts we required to make an informed judgment on his suitability as a candidate. Mr Sharp should consider the impact his omissions will have on trust in him, the BBC and the public appointments process". Labour MP
Lucy Powell feared the report put the impartiality and independence of the BBC into doubt and criticised "cronyism", while
Liberal Democrat MP
Daisy Cooper called for the ministerial ethics adviser to investigate Johnson. The broadcaster
Jonathan Dimbleby called for Sharp's resignation. Journalist
Patience Wheatcroft commented on the loan to Johnson that Sharp helped to organise and said Sharp did Johnson "a favour just when he wanted the prime minister to give him the top job at the BBC.(...) What the BBC needs in a chairman is impeccable judgment." In
Declassified UK, former
Guardian defence correspondent
Richard Norton-Taylor said: "The Sharp affair is the latest episode in a long history of the close relationship between the BBC and the upper reaches of the British establishment." In further evidence to the Select Committee, in March 2023, John Birt described Sharp as being unsuitable for the job and blamed the Cabinet Secretary for a failure of governance in the appointment.
Gary Lineker suspension In response to the suspension of
Match of the Day presenter
Gary Lineker by the BBC, on 10 March 2023, several politicians and other political commentators called for Sharp's resignation. Labour leader
Keir Starmer described Sharp's position as "increasingly untenable", while
Mark Ruskell, the culture spokesperson for the
Scottish Greens, said: "Richard Sharp must go and go now. Every second he remains trust in the BBC's ability to carry out its functions free from UK Government influence is eroded."
Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, called on Sunak to "do the right thing and sack Richard Sharp."
Inquiry and resignation The Office of the
Commissioner for Public Appointments opened an inquiry into this appointment. On 6 February 2023 the Commissioner recused himself as he had "met Sharp on several occasions", and appointed barrister Adam Heppinstall to lead further work. Heppinstall's report was published on 28 April 2023 and Sharp submitted his resignation, which took effect on 27 June 2023. The Culture Secretary
Lucy Frazer thanked him for his work and noted that he was "held in high regard by the BBC board". ==Rowson cartoon==