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Boris Johnson could not disclose details of the £800,000 loan at the center of the scandal that led to Richard Sharp’s resignation as BBC chairman.
The former prime minister’s team did not respond to requests to disclose the exact nature of the loan secured with the help of Mr Sharp and his cousin Sam Bryce.
Mr Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs executive, was forced to resign from his position at the BBC after a scathing independent report said he had violated rules around what could be considered a conflict of interest.
Former civil servant Sir Peter Liddell said on Friday that Mr Johnson’s role in the appointment of Richard Sharp should be considered.
Sir Peter, who was commissioner when Mr Sharp took office, said the former prime minister’s role was “not sufficiently discussed” because it was outside the mandate of Adam Hepinstall KC’s investigation.
he told BBC Radio 4 world at one programme: “He himself was conflicted…should he have declined the appointment knowing that Richard Sharpe was helping him with this loan?
“Should someone in the Cabinet Office have spoken to his colleagues at the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sports about what was going on with private finance?”
At the center of the dispute was an £800,000 loan line for Mr Johnson, which Mr Sharp helped secure by taking Mr Bryce as a guarantor.
News of the loan emerged after it was reported by Sunday Times, After dinner at his friend Bryce’s house in West London in November 2020, Sharp said he came to help set up the loan.
Bryce, a Canadian businessman and Mr Johnson’s distant cousin, has offered to be a guarantor for Mr Johnson’s loan, according to the newspaper.
The then-Prime Minister was facing hefty bills for childcare costs and renovations to his Downing Street apartment at a time when he was facing financial difficulties following his divorce from Marina Wheeler.
Mr Sharp, who has donated around £400,000 to the Conservative Party over the years, stepped in to help and met with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case about introducing Case to Mr Bryce to help the former prime minister with a loan. We talked.
Before submitting his application, he spoke with Mr Johnson and informed him of his decision to apply for the BBC job with the 11 November deadline for candidates. He drew up a shortlist and by November 19th, No 10 had revealed he was the preferred candidate.
In a meeting with Mr Case on 4 December, Mr Sharp said he had submitted an application for the BBC’s chairmanship and believed that doing so would eliminate potential conflicts of interest.
In his resignation, the 66-year-old admitted that he should have warned the interviewing board that this was a “mistake” and a potential conflict of interest.
After meeting with the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Sharp was interviewed for the chairmanship and was told that the interview panel, as per rules, No. 10 considered him a preferred candidate.
I We’ve reached out to Johnson’s team for comment.