After an investigation determined he had broken the rules by failing to disclose his participation in securing a loan for the then-prime minister Boris Johnson, BBC chairman Richard Sharp announced his resignation on Friday. “I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work was I to remain in post until the end of my term,” said Sharp, who was formerly a boss of current premier Rishi Sunak at Goldman Sachs.
In a statement given before the publication of the report, Sharp said Adam Heppinstall KC, who led the inquiry, had concluded: “that while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment”. Sharp continued: “Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate.” Nevertheless, Sharp said he was resigning to “prioritize the interests of the BBC”. He said he would remain in post until the end of June while the process to appoint his successor took place.