BBC chairman Richard Sharp has resigned following the publication of a report by barrister Adam Heppinstall KC, which found that Mr. Sharp breached the governance code for public appointments. The resignation comes in the wake of a cronyism row earlier this year involving then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and an £800,000 loan facility.
The report investigated whether Richard Sharp failed to properly disclose his involvement in facilitating a loan to Boris Johnson during his appointment process. Although Mr. Sharp admitted to breaching the governance code, he claimed that it was "inadvertent and not material."
In addition, Mr. Sharp disclosed his role in setting up a meeting between Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Sam Blyth, a businessman who offered financial help to then Prime Minister Johnson. In light of these findings, Mr. Sharp apologized for what he referred to as an "oversight" and expressed gratitude for having had the opportunity to chair the BBC.
Despite denying any direct involvement in arranging loans or other illicit activities, Richard Sharp acknowledged that these issues were causing distractions within the corporation.
Richard Sunak, Prime Minister at present time will have final say on whether or not further action is taken against former chairman Richard Sharp based on today's published findings; however no comment has yet been made from Downing Street regarding their stance on matter thus far.
As part of ongoing investigations into potential breaches within government codes relating specifically towards public appointment processes - attention now turns toward recruitment preparations taking place surrounding selection criteria involved appointing next BBC Chairperson alongside pre-appointment hearings involving prospective candidates themselves