Sunak to rule on former boss over £800,000 loan deal
RISHI SUNAK faces having to decide whether his former boss should remain as BBC chairman amid a row over conflicts of interests linked to his appointment.
No10 is facing questions over the role BBC boss Richard Sharp played in helping to arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 for Boris Johnson.
It emerged yesterday that Mr Sharp, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, was involved in talks about financing Mr Johnson’s Downing Street lifestyle in November and December 2021, just weeks before the then prime minister recommended him for the role of BBC chairman.
The BBC chairman is appointed to the £160,000 a year role by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary, meaning Mr Sunak could have the responsibility for deciding his fate.
Yesterday Labour called for an investigation into the allegations by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, warning the claims raised as many questions over conflicts of interest for Mr Sunak as they did for Mr Johnson.
Mr Sunak reported to Mr Sharp when the two worked at Goldman Sachs. The BBC chairman also acted as a Covid adviser to the Prime Minister when he was chancellor.
Lucy Powell, shadow culture secretary, said it was “vital” the public and Parliament could trust the appointment process and that it must be “free from real or perceived conflict of interest.”
It means Mr Sunak could have to recuse himself from any decision over the future of Mr Sharp, who is also a Tory donor.
“These reports raise as many questions for Rishi Sunak as they do Boris Johnson. The public deserves answers to clear up any perception of possible conflicts of interest,” said Ms Powell.
Mr Sharp told The Sunday Times, which broke the story, that he had “simply connected” people and there was no conflict of interest. Mr Johnson’s spokesman dismissed the report as “rubbish” and insisted his financial arrangements “have been properly declared.” But questions were also being raised yesterday over the role of Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who is alleged to have discussed the guarantor proposal with Mr Sharp in the first week of December.
Mr Sharp, 66, a friend and former adviser to Mr Johnson, is said to have become involved last November after a dinner at the home of Sam Blyth, an old friend, in west London.
Mr Blyth, 67, a billionaire Canadian
businessman and distant cousin of Mr Johnson, is said to have raised the idea of acting as the PM’S guarantor and asked Mr Sharp for advice on the best way forward.
Mr Sharp agreed to help and in the first week of December, he went to Downing Street to discuss the matter with Mr Case. Mr Sharp is alleged to have later introduced Mr Case, 44, to Mr Blyth, and spoken to Mr Johnson.
Before the loan was finalised, Mr Johnson, Mr Sharp and Mr Blyth had a private dinner at Chequers. All three are said to maintain Mr Johnson’s finances were not discussed.
Mr Johnson’s sister, Rachel, urged the corporation to question Mr Case who appeared to be the “lynchpin” in the issue, noting that “Richard Sharp properly said [the Cabinet Secretary] should be involved if any such introduction
was made between him and his friend Sam [Blyth].”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said yesterday: “Mr Sharp reminded the Cabinet Secretary about the BBC appointment process and asked for advice, given his existing relationship with Boris Johnson. They agreed that he could not take part in discussions involving the then Prime Minister, given the appointment process. This was accepted by Mr Sharp to avoid any conflict or appearance of any conflict of interest and the prime minister was advised accordingly.” The spokesman added that Mr Sharp had been appointed after a “rigorous appointments process” and “all the correct recruitment processes were followed.”
Mr Sharp told The Sunday Times: “There is not a conflict when I simply connected, at his request, Mr Blyth with the cabinet secretary and had no further involvement whatsoever.”
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “Mr Johnson did indeed have dinner with Mr Sharp, whom he has known for almost 20 years, and with his cousin. So what? Big deal.”