Boris Johnson: BBC chair made ‘significant errors of judgement’ over £800k loan

Published

3 years ago

February 12, 2023

admin

BBC chairman Richard Sharp made “significant errors of judgement” by facilitating an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson, a cross-party committee of MPs has found.

The committee said Mr Sharp should “consider the impact his omissions will have” on public trust in the broadcaster after he failed to declare his role as a go-between for the former prime minister when applying for the chairman’s job.

The MPs also said his actions “constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals” applying for prominent public appointments.

Mr Sharp said he 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, to the Cabinet Office.

A spokesperson for Mr Sharp said he “regrets” not telling MPs about his association with Mr Blyth “and apologises”.

Chairman of the BBC – What is the role?

The Chairman of the BBC is the head of the BBC board – on a salary of £160,000.

They are responsible for maintaining the independence of the BBC while overseeing the functioning of the corporation to fulfill its mission.

The chairman is also in charge of the process for appointing the director-general and can dismiss the person in this role. They also act as the corporation’s most senior representative to Parliament and the government, including the devolved administrations.

Roger Mosey, a former head of TV news at the BBC, told Sky News it was a job with “two directions”.

He said while it is “the most important role for the accountability of the BBC to the public”, it is not one which is involved in the BBC’s journalism.

But Mr Mosey pointed out that it is not uncommon for the chair to be a political appointment and that this is “nothing new”.

“It was in seeking at the time to ensure that the rules were followed, and in the belief that this had been achieved, that Mr Sharp acted in good faith in the way he did,” the spokesperson said.

The strongly-worded report from the cross-party MPs on the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee suggests Mr Sharp’s actions could damage the BBC.

The same committee backed Mr Sharp’s appointment to the chairman’s job in January 2021 but was not aware of his role in facilitating the loan.

“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 judgement, which undermine confidence in the public appointments process and could deter qualified individuals from applying for such posts,” the committee said.

Timeline

November 2020:
According to the Sunday Times the loan guarantee was first suggested by Canadian millionaire Sam Blyth during a dinner with Richard Sharp.

Early December 2020:
In early December, Richard Sharp put Sam Blyth in contact with the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case.

Late 2020:
Before the end of the year, Richard Sharp and Sam Blyth met with Boris Johnson for dinner at his country residence, Chequers. They insist the prime minister’s finances were not discussed.

January 2021:
At the start of January, the government announced Richard Sharp as the preferred candidate to be BBC chairman.

The MPs continued: “Mr Sharp should consider the impact his omissions will have on trust in him, the BBC and the public appointments process.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments is reviewing the competition to ensure the process was run in compliance with the rules and we will await the outcome.”

World

COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2025

admin

COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed steps to help speed up climate action, according to a draft deal.

The meeting of leaders in the Brazilian city of Belem also saw them agree to reviewing related trade barriers and triple the money given to developing countries to help them withstand extreme weather events, according to the draft.

However, the summit’s president Correa do Lago said “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.

The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in the Amazon city of Belem was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.

The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.

The impasse was resolved following all-night negotiations led by Brazil, negotiators said.

The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.

“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 80 countries, including the UK and coal-rich Colombia, had been pushing for a plan on how to “transition away from fossil fuels”.

This is a pledge all countries agreed to two years ago at COP28 – then did very little about since.

But scores of countries – including major oil and gas producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia – see this push as too prescriptive or a threat to their economies.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2025

admin

Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

Israel says it has begun striking Hamas targets in Gaza, reportedly killing at least nine people, after what it called a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Local health authorities in Gaza said there had been three separate airstrikes, one hit a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood, killing five people and wounding several others.

Shortly after the attack on the car, the Israeli air force hit two more targets in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.

They said at least four people died when two houses were struck in Deir Al-Balah city and Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli military said there had been a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

It claimed a gunman had crossed into Israeli-held territory after exploiting “the humanitarian road in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza”.

A Hamas official rejected the Israeli military’s allegations as baseless, calling them an “excuse to kill”, adding the Palestinian group was committed to the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli airstrikes are a further test of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which has held since 10 October following the two-year Gaza war.

Israel pulled back its troops, and the flow of aid into the territory has increased. But violence has not completely halted.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 316 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and it has attacked scores of militants.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2025

admin

Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.

European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.

Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.

Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland

The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.

One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.

Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.

“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.

“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”

On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.

Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.

“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.

“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.

“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.

Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.

There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.

But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.