Boris Johnson referred to parliament standards watchdog over claims BBC chairman ‘helped him get £800,000 loan’
FORMER Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly been referred to the parliamentary standards watchdog over claims the BBC chairman “helped him get a £800,000 loan.”
The referral is said to have been made by the Labour Party over what it called a “quagmire of sleaze,” according to Sky News.
A report in The Times claims Richard Sharp, 66, helped Johnson’s Downing Street lifestyle in November and December 2020 by arranging to a guarantee on a loan.
That was just weeks before Mr Johnson selected him for his current job with the corporation, according to the paper.
Mr Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, had already submitted his application to take up the position at the broadcaster and had reached the final stages of the selection process.
The friend and former adviser to Mr Johnson had already given £400,000 to the Conservative Party and is said to have become involved following a dinner at the home of an old friend, Sam Blyth, in West London.
Mr Blyth, a multimillionaire Canadian businessman and distant cousin of Mr Johnson, is reportedly said to have raised the idea of acting at the PM’s guarantor and asked Mr Sharp for advice on the best way forward.
Mr Sharp is said to have agreed to help and is thought to have met with Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, at Downing Street in the first week of December.
Mr Sharp reportedly introduced Mr Case to Blyth and spoke to Johnson.
Mr Johnson, Mr Sharp and Mr Blyth reportedly had a private dinner at Chequers before the loan was finalised.
All three insist that Mr Johnson’s finances were not discussed.
The Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team are said to have written a formal letter telling Mr Johnson to stop seeking Mr Sharp’s advice about his personal finances, given the forthcoming BBC appointment.
By then, Mr Johnson is said to have selected Mr Sharp has his preferred candidate and on January 6, 2021, the then culture secretary Oliver Dowden, named him as the government’s choice for the BBC role which pays £160,00 a year.
Under the BBC’s royal charter, the monarch appoints the chair on the recommendation of the prime minister and culture secretary.
They receive advice from a panel of four people, who must run a “fair and open” contest.
While anyone is able to apply, the government has the final say and can re-run contests if it does not like the short-listed candidates.
The chair of the BBC has responsibility for the corporation and must uphold its position of impartiality and political neutrality.
Mr Sharp reportedly did not disclose his involvement in Mr Johnson’s finances to the panel and did not inform the BBC.
The matter was not disclosed during his pre-appointment hearing before a House of Commons select committee in February 2021.
In the government’s job application form for the role it states: “You cannot be considered for a public appointment if … you fail to declare any conflict of interest.”
Mr Johnson is said to have never revealed Mr Sharp’s involvement in the MPs’ register of interests.
Under the BBC’s royal charter, the monarch appoints the chair on the recommendation of the prime minister and culture secretary.
They receive advice from a panel of four people, who must run a “fair and open” contest.
While anyone is able to apply, the government has the final say and can re-run contests if it does not like the short-listed candidates.
The chair of the BBC has responsibility for the corporation and must uphold its position of impartiality and political neutrality.
Mr Sharp reportedly did not disclose his involvement in Mr Johnson’s finances to the panel and did not inform the BBC.
The matter was not disclosed during his pre-appointment hearing before a House of Commons select committee in February 2021.
In the government’s job application form for the role it states: “You cannot be considered for a public appointment if … you fail to declare any conflict of interest.”
Mr Johnson is said to have never revealed Mr Sharp’s involvement in the MPs’ register of interests.
It says members must declare any benefit that could influence, or be perceived to influence, their public work.
Mr Johnson is also said to have omitted it from his register of ministerial interests.
The ministerial code says: “Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.”
Mr Sharp has acknowledged that he “connected with Mr Case and Mr Blyth but says he did not provide financial advice and has insisted there was “no conflict [of interest]”.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he had declared his interest properly and when asked about the Chequers dinner, he replied: “So what? Big deal.”
The BBC has declined to comment.
