Richard Sharp: BBC chair’s position ‘increasingly untenable’ after helping Boris Johnson secure £800,000 loan, says Labour’s Lisa Nandy
The BBC chairman’s position is becoming “increasingly untenable” after a committee of MPs found he made “significant errors of judgement” by facilitating a loan guarantee for Boris Johnson, a frontbench Labour MP has said.
Lisa Nandy made the remarks on Sky News after it emerged Richard Sharp, who helped Mr Johnson secure an £800,000 loan, failed to declare his role as a go-between for the then-prime minister when applying for the chairman’s job.
The cross-party Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has said in a report that Mr Sharp should “consider the impact his omissions will have” on public trust in the broadcaster.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp is under pressure
The committee also said his actions “constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals” applying for prominent public appointments.
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.
Committee report is a ‘really serious development’
Ms Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that the government had “relied on the defence” that the committee had approved the appointment of Mr Sharp as BBC chair.
She continued: “But the committee today is saying that actually, had they known about (the loan), it would have been a very different situation.
“This information was not disclosed to them prior to approving that appointment.”
Speaking about the findings in the report, Ms Nandy said: “It is a really serious development and it makes Richard Sharp’s position look increasingly untenable.”
She added: “I think it’s difficult to see how Richard Sharp could possibly stay in the position that he’s in, given the far reaching implications for the reputation of the BBC and the implications for trust in journalism.”
Mr Sharp appearing before the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Ms Nandy’s comments came after the Conservative Party’s development minister Andrew Mitchell said the report’s findings are a “matter for the BBC”.
“I think Damian Green (acting chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee) is a very senior member of the House of Commons and what he and his committee says matters,” he said.
“But I think, as I say, this is really something which the public appointments commissioner must look at and we must wait for his judgement. And above all, of course, it’s a matter for the judgement of the BBC.”
Sharp claims he ‘acted in good faith’
Mr Sharp has said he didn’t arrange the loan but admitted introducing his friend Sam Blyth, a cousin of Mr Johnson who wanted to help the then-PM, to the Cabinet Office.
A spokesperson for Mr Sharp said he “regrets” not telling MPs about his association with Mr Blyth “and apologises”.
“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.
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It’s hard to see how Sharp survives this sleazy aftershock of Johnson’s time in office
Of the three investigations launched into Richard Sharp’s appointment, this was always the one least likely to prove fatal for his position as BBC chair.
That’s simply because the other inquiries are being run by Whitehall’s official regulator for appointments and the BBC itself.
If the findings from either of those two are anywhere near as critical as this committee report, it’s hard to see how Mr Sharp survives in post.
That’s because the BBC chair really needs to carry the confidence of the government and the corporation to execute the role.
It’s a wholly unwelcome development for BBC employees who have felt increasingly under siege in recent years from a mix of budget cuts, mass redundancies and accusations of political bias.
Given Richard Sharp himself has said the BBC has a “liberal bias”, the fact he has dragged the corporation into this row is particularly grating for many.
But despite this being another example of a somewhat sleazy aftershock of Boris Johnson’s time in office, it’s an unideal situation for Rishi Sunak too.
The prime minister used to work for Richard Sharp at Goldman Sachs, adding to the sense this is all a symptom of a cosy and monied establishment looking after itself.
In its strongly-worded report on the matter, the committee 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 judgement, which undermine confidence in the public appointments process and could deter qualified individuals from applying for such posts.”
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.”
At least 55 people have been killed, and police have made several arrests, after a huge fire engulfed a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.
Authorities said nearly 300 people are also missing following the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po – a suburban district with around 300,000 residents, near the border with mainland China.
A further 45 people are in hospital in a critical condition, with around 900 people also in shelters as a result of the blaze
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Deadly blaze destroys Hong Kong tower blocks
Police have alleged its cause could have been a “grossly negligent” construction firm using unsafe materials.
Three people – two directors and an engineering consultant – have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
“We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” said police superintendent Eileen Chung. Police have not named the company.
The complex, built in the 1980s, had been under renovation for a year.
Smoke rising from the Wang Fuk Court residential complex. Pic: AP Photo/Chan Long Hei
The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon. Pic: Reuters
Dozens of people remain in hospital, some are critically injured. Pic: AP Photo/Chan Long Hei
One firefighter was among those killed tackling the blaze, which broke out at 2.51pm local time on Wednesday.
Fire crews said they had doused the flames in all seven of the affected blocks by Thursday morning, which had been undergoing maintenance.
Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 flats housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people.
A relative of a resident at the scene. Pic: Reuters
Families have been identifying the bodies of relatives while others have been visiting shelters in the area, searching for missing loved ones.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Thursday the government will set up a HK$300m (£29m) fund to help residents.
Charred bamboo and plastic mesh covers the complex, which was undergoing renovation works. Pic: Reuters
Firefighters searching between floors at one of the high-rise blocks. Pic: Reuters
The cause of the fire is being investigated, but it appears to have started in bamboo scaffolding and construction mesh sheets and then spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings – likely aided by windy conditions.
Bamboo scaffolding is commonly used in Hong Kong, but is in the process of being phased out because of safety concerns.
Hong Kong’s Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said there have been at least three fires involving bamboo scaffolding this year.
Temporary shelters have been set up for residents. Pic: AP
Supplies are brought to a school which is serving as a shelter. Pic: Kyodo/AP
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China’s state broadcaster CCTV said President Xi Jinping has urged an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties and losses.
Both the US and British Consulate Generals for Hong Kong have sent condolences to those affected, as has Taiwan’s president.
Parts of the huge complex were still smouldering on Thursday. Pic: AP
Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Pic: AP
The number of dead is already the highest in a Hong Kong fire since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse blaze.
The fire has prompted comparisons to the Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 72 people in 2017, blamed on flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong,” the Grenfell United survivors’ group said on
social media.
“To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone.”
World
Washington DC shooting: Trump condemns ‘monstrous’ attack near White House – and says suspect is Afghan national
Donald Trump has called for every Afghan national who entered the US under the Biden administration to be investigated following the shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House.
The president said the “monstrous, ambush-style attack” was carried out by an Afghan national who arrived in September 2021 during America’s chaotic withdrawal from Kabul.
“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” Mr Trump said in an address to the nation from Florida.
He vowed to “reexamine every single alien” who has entered the US from Afghanistan under the previous government, and said: “I am determined to ensure the animal who perpetrated this atrocity will pay the steepest possible price.”
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Trump condemns ‘animal’ shooting suspect
Suspect to face terror probe
America’s citizenship and immigration office said it had stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely.
Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, reports the suspect in custody is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Both guardsmen were shot in the head, according to NBC, citing senior officials briefed on the investigation.
Wednesday’s shooting – carried out with a handgun – will be investigated by the FBI as a possible act of terror.
The White House was placed into lockdown following the incident, while Mr Trump is away for Thanksgiving.
Pics: AP
Victims in ‘critical condition’
West Virginia’s governor initially said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries – but later posted to say there were “conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”.
Patrick Morrisey had said: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country.”
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Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.
Mr Trump has announced an extra 500 troops will be deployed in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting.
FBI director Kash Patel said the troops were “brazenly attacked in a horrendous act of violence”.
At a news conference, he clarified they were in a “critical condition”.
Pic: AP
Former president Joe Biden, who was heavily criticised by Mr Trump in his address, said he and his wife Jill were “heartbroken” by the shooting.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it,” said a statement.
How the attack unfolded
Jeff Carroll, chief of the metropolitan police department in the area, said the attack began at 2.15pm local time (7.15pm in the UK) while National Guard members were on “high visibility patrols in the area”.
He said: “A suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged it at the National Guard.
“The National Guard members were… able to – after some back and forth – able to subdue the individual and bring them into custody.”
Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser called the attack a “targeted shooting”.
Pics: AP
Social media footage showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers as they treated the other on a pavement covered in glass.
Nearby other officers could be seen restraining an individual on the ground.
Emergency personnel cordon off an area near where the National Guard soldiers were shot. Pics: AP
The scene was cordoned off by police tape, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attended the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.
The FBI was also on the scene, the agency’s director said.
A woman has been killed by a shark and a man seriously injured at a popular beach in Australia.
Emergency services were alerted to the attack at Crowdy Bay National Park, near Port Macquarie, around 218 miles north of Sydney, at 6.30am local time on Thursday.
They were responding to reports two people had been bitten by a shark.
The pair had entered the water at Kylies Beach, a popular surfing spot, for an early morning swim.
The woman, who is believed to be in her 20s, died at the scene. She has not yet been identified.
The man, also understood to be in his 20s, was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
He is now said to be in a serious but stable condition, with police believing a bystander’s first aid may have prevented a double fatality.
Police Chief Inspector Timothy Bayly said: “I just really need to have a shoutout to the bystander on the beach who put a makeshift tourniquet on the male’s leg which obviously potentially saved his life and allowed New South Wales Ambulance paramedics to get to him and render first aid.”
The officer did not give any further details of the injuries or circumstances of the attack.
He said: “At this stage, all I’m prepared to say is they were known to each other and they were going for a swim and the shark attacked.”
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Shark attacks on two people are very rare, experts say. File pic: iStock
Experts said it is rare for a shark to attack more than one person.
Gavin Naylor, director of the University of Florida‘s shark research programme, said: “It is very unusual. Individual shark attacks are rare. And shark attacks on two people by the same individual is not unheard of, but it’s very rare.”
He added: “Sometimes younger sharks are less judicious and they can make mistakes. Where sharks are close to seal colonies and feeding, the probability (of attack) is higher.
“The few bites that we do have where a single shark has bitten multiple people, it’s usually tiger sharks. We’ve never seen white sharks do that unless somebody’s heroically jumping in the way.”
The beach – known for camping, fishing spots and hiking tracks – has been closed to the public as authorities work to determine the species of shark involved.
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