BBC chair Richard Sharp offers no apology over Boris Johnson loan row

Published

2 years ago

February 7, 2023

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BBC chairman Richard Sharp has offered no apology for his part in securing an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson, shortly before being recommended by the former prime minister for his job.

Appearing in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the media boss said he regretted the “embarrassment” caused to his employer since it was revealed he introduced Canadian businessman – and distant cousin of Mr Johnson – Sam Blyth to the head of the civil service, Simon Case, to discuss the fund back in 2020.

But despite almost two hours of questioning, Mr Sharp continued to insist he had not “facilitated” any money changing hands in the weeks before his appointment was announced in February 2021, nor gained from it, saying he had instead “ensured due process was followed”.

The saga has caused more trouble for the Conservative Party after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to put “integrity, professionalism and accountability” at the centre of his government.

Politics live: Sunak announces cabinet reshuffle

During a grilling by MPs of all stripes, Mr Sharp described the timeline of events, saying he met his friend Mr Blyth back in September 2020 for dinner and it was the businessman who raised the widely reported “difficulties” Mr Johnson was facing with his finances.

Mr Sharp, who was working as an advisor in the Treasury at the time, said he told the businessman to go via the Cabinet Office if he wanted to help his relative, adding: “You may be a family member but you need to be careful – things need to be done by the book”.

The following month, Mr Sharp decided to apply for the BBC role and admitted he met Mr Johnson to tell him of his plan to go for the post.

But he denied to the committee that he raised Mr Blyth’s offer of financial assistance with the then PM, saying the pair’s relationship was “broadly professional”.

Mr Sharp said his friend had not mentioned the monetary help again until a phone call in November – shortly after Mr Sharp had put in his application in with the BBC – and in December he gave his number to Mr Case.

“I raised with Mr Blyth the fact I had submitted my application to be the chair of the BBC,” he said. “And therefore, to avoid a conflict or perception of conflict, I could have, we agreed, no further participation in whatever transpired whatsoever – and I didn’t.”

The chairman continued to insist he was “not party to anything that did happen or didn’t happen” after the introduction, and had raised his application with Mr Case as well.

But members of the committee were still perplexed as to why he had not mentioned the situation when he faced their scrutiny ahead of his appointment at the BBC.

The SNP’s John Nicolson also said it left the impression “so much of this is deeply establishment”, adding: “It is pals appointing pals, donation money to pals… it is all a bit banana republic and cosy.”

But Mr Sharp said: “The answer is having had the meeting with Mr Case… and having discussed the BBC application and that Mr Case put in place [measures] to ensure there was no conflict or perception of conflict, I did not raise it with this committee.

“I took comfort from the meeting with Mr Case.”

Labour MP Kevin Brennan was less comforted, however, saying: “I don’t think that is good enough in what is expected as you as a candidate.”

‘I gave no financial advice’

Mr Sharp continued to insist he had never given Mr Johnson any financial advice either, despite reports Mr Case had to tell Mr Johnson to stop asking for it in January 2021.

And while he “regrets the situation”, he was “not party to any subsequent events that took place”.

“I gave no financial advice to the prime minister [and] I gave no financial advice to Mr Blyth,” he added.

Appearing to give him a last chance to apologise, committee chair and Tory MP Damien Green, said: “You took an action that would make the prime minister very personally grateful to you while you were applying for a sensitive job which was in his gift and you didn’t tell anybody about this.

“Being as charitable as possible, wasn’t that an error of judgement?

After a long pause, Mr Sharp said: “What I undertook was to ensure that good process was followed. As far as I was concerned, the action I was doing was to put his cousin in touch with the cabinet secretary and that is as far as it went.”

Asked if he would do the same again, the chairman continued: “Well, obviously, I have had a lot of time to consider in the last few weeks my participation in this in seeking to ensure all rules were followed and I wish we weren’t where we are now.”

And after another pause, he added: “I think I will continue to consider the actions that I took. What I do know is I acted in good faith to ensure that rules were followed and in that sense I have no regret from that.

“I clearly underestimated the way things could be seen, particularly in light of when they were described with facts that weren’t true… I simply put Mr Blyth together with Mr Case… but clearly I could have said to him… find your own way to Mr Case.”

And did the BBC chairman wish he had done that? he was asked. “You can form your own judgement on that,” said Mr Sharp.

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‘I think you’re looking for us’: Video shows moment Sara Sharif’s family detained on plane

Published

4 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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'I think you're looking for us': Video shows moment Sara Sharif's family detained on plane

Footage of the moment 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s alleged killers were detained after police boarded their plane back to the UK has been played in court.

As they are approached by officers, Sara‘s stepmother Beinash Batool is heard saying: “I think you’re looking for us.”

Batool, 30, Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and uncle Faisal Malik, 29, are accused of carrying out a campaign of abuse against her culminating in her death at her family home in Surrey on 8 August last year.

The defendants, along with five of Sara’s siblings, aged between one and 13, flew to Pakistan the following day.

Sara’s body was found by police in a bunkbed on 10 August after Sharif called police from Pakistan to say he had beaten her “too much” for being “naughty”.

A murder investigation was launched involving agencies including Interpol and the National Crime Agency to locate the defendants.

They returned to the UK on a flight from Dubai to Gatwick Airport on 13 September.

The clips of officers’ body-worn video shown to the jury on Friday captured the moment police boarded the plane and detained the defendants at 7.42pm, seven minutes after touchdown.

After Batool addresses the officers, Sharif, who had been sitting next to her, is asked to follow them.

The three were then taken off the plane and arrested.

A post-mortem examination established Sara had sustained extensive and significant injuries over a sustained period prior to her death.

The jury heard on Friday how concerns were raised by Sara’s school about bruising on her body in June 2022 and March 2023.

Several items seized from Sara’s home were also reviewed by the court, including a leather belt which had full DNA samples at both ends for Sara, Sharif, and Malik.

A cricket bat was also found to have Sara’s DNA profile on it, along with the DNA samples of Sharif and Malik.

Neither item had a DNA trace of Batool.

The court also reviewed the defendants’ bank accounts – both joint and separate.

All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.

UK

Girl, 13, ‘critical’ after being found stabbed next to A63 in Hessle – as six teenagers arrested

Published

4 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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Girl, 13, 'critical' after being found stabbed next to A63 in Hessle - as six teenagers arrested

Six teenagers have been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was found with multiple stab wounds on a roadside near Hull.

Police said she was found around 6.50am on the A63 in Hessle with “life-threatening injuries” including “lacerations to her neck, abdomen, chest and back”.

Four boys and two girls – aged between 14 and 17 – were quickly arrested in a nearby wooded area and are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder.

Members of the public came to the girl’s aid before emergency services arrived, Humberside Police said.

Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers said they “believe the attackers knew the victim” and the circumstances are still being investigated.

“The girl remains in hospital in critical condition and her family are being supported by officers at this difficult time,” he added.

The boys arrested are aged 14, 15, 16 and 17, and the girls 14 and 15.

Cordons are in place around a wooded area off Ferriby High Road while investigations continue.

Police said they would have an increased presence in the area over the weekend and have asked anyone with information or video to get in touch, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

UK

Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife tells court it was a ‘foolish idea’ to have someone with his ‘skillset’ in prison

Published

7 hours ago

November 1, 2024

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Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife tells court it was a 'foolish idea' to have someone with his 'skillset' in prison

A former soldier has told a jury his escape from Wandsworth prison to avoid being held with sex offenders and terrorists showed his “skillset”.

Daniel Khalife, 23, who was being held accused of passing secrets to Iran said he was “never a real spy” but planned a fake defection to the state following his arrest after watching American television show Homeland.

He said he wanted to be moved to a high-security unit because he was getting unwanted attention from the sex offenders on the vulnerable prisoners wing and feared a move to Belmarsh prison because, as a British soldier, terrorists wanted to kill him.

Khalife said he first wanted to “make a show” of escaping, acting suspiciously and covering himself in soot from a food delivery lorry on 21 August last year, while he was working in the prison kitchen.

He was spotted and reported to security but was “pretty shocked” when nothing happened so decided to take the “full measure,” he told the jury.

Talking about his escape for the first time at his Woolwich Crown Court trial, Khalife told how he fashioned a makeshift sling from kitchen trousers and carabiners used by inmates to keep their possessions safe from rats.

He attached it to the Bidfood lorry on 1 September last year, to see if it would be spotted by officers at Wandsworth or other prisons on the delivery route.

“I put the two carabiners and the makeshift rope underneath the lorry,” he said.

“When I had made the decision to actually leave the prison I was going to do it properly so I tested the security not just in Wandsworth

“Strangely, over the coming days, I could see it but it wasn’t spotted in Wandsworth or any other prison.”

Then on the morning of 6 September, Khalife said he concealed himself underneath the lorry, resting his back on the sling as the lorry was searched.

“They did normal checks around with torches but they didn’t find me. After that, a governor came to the tunnel and said, ‘Have you searched the vehicle?’

“I was facing upwards. There was action around the lorry.”

He said that when the vehicle stopped he “came out underneath the lorry and stayed in the prone position” until the lorry moved off.

Khalife, who joined the Army aged 16 and took up a post with the Royal Signals, based in Beacons barracks, Staffordshire, said he made no attempt to leave the country and had no intention to “run away” from the charges he was facing.

He was arrested three days later on the footpath of the Grand Union Canal in Northolt, west London, after a nationwide manhunt.

Asked why he had not handed himself in after his escape, Khalife said: “I was finally demonstrating what a foolish idea it was to have someone of my skillset in prison. What use was that to anyone?”

“I accept that I left the prison and didn’t have any permission to do so,” he said. “I accept absolutely that I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

Inspired by Homeland

The court has heard Khalife initiated contact with Iranian intelligence officers after he was told he could not pass developed vetting because his mother was born in Iran.

Khalife told MI5 he wanted to be a “double agent” and he said in court he thought he would be “congratulated” but described his arrest as like a “punch in the face”.

Wearing a blue checked shirt and chinos, he said police were “blinded at the prospect of a successful prosecution” but he did not think being in prison would be in “the public interest”.

“I didn’t do anything that harmed our national security. I wanted to put myself in a position where I could help my country,” he said.

“I believed I could continue my work actually located in the state – the state being Iran.”

Khalife said he took inspiration from watching Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, in which Americans and terrorists go undercover, on Netflix.

“I had seen one of the characters in the programme had actually falsely defected to a particular country and utilised that position to further the national security interests of that character’s country,” he said.

“The country in question, Iran, thought it was real. She did it to further the interests of her own country.”

Khalife told jurors he is a “patriot”, adding: “I do love my country. All I wanted to do was help. I never wanted to do any harm, I never did do any harm.”

He added: “It is tragic it has come to this and I would do anything to go back to my career.”

Khalife, from Kingston, southwest London, denies a charge of committing an act prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state under the Official Secrets Act between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.

He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act of eliciting information about Armed Forces personnel on 2 August 2021, perpetrating a bomb hoax on or before 2 January 2023 and escaping from prison on 6 September last year.

The trial continues.