Richard Sharp, president of the BBC since 2021, announced on Friday April 28 to the board of directors of the British public group that he was leaving his position. The board of directors asked him to remain in office until the end of June, the time that his successor will be appointed. "The UK government is preparing to rapidly begin the process of appointing a new chairman of the BBC, in accordance with the terms of the group's charter," the board said in a statement, praising the work of Richard Sharp., a “person of integrity”.
The announcement of the resignation of Richard Sharp comes as this former banker is faced with a conflict of interest case surrounding his appointment as head of the BBC. Richard Sharp's links with Boris Johnson are in question, and in particular the fact that, shortly before his appointment, he played the matchmaker to help the politician, then Prime Minister, to obtain a personal loan of 800,000 pounds (906 000 €). As is customary, it was on the recommendation of the head of the British government that the president of the BBC was appointed.
An independent report into the case, written by attorney Adam Heppinstall KC and released Friday, April 28, found a violation of public appointments rules. The report argues that by failing to disclose his role in securing Boris Johnson's security for the loan, Richard Sharp risked giving the impression that he was not independent of the then Prime Minister. He also judges that Richard Sharp had risked giving the impression of influencing Boris Johnson to obtain his support, by warning him of his candidacy for the presidency of the BBC before formally submitting it.
According to Richard Sharp, who spoke in a separate press release, this violation “inadvertently […] does not necessarily invalidate [his] nomination”. But he argues that he wants to put "the interests of the BBC" first, believing that this case could represent a "distraction" from the "good work" of the group and has therefore chosen to resign.