Gary Lineker has demanded Tory ministers don’t get to choose the next chairman of the BBC after Richard Sharp was forced to quit
The Match Of The Day host argued the government should not pick who runs the broadcaster “not now, now ever”.
Mr Sharp announced he was stepping down this morning after he failed to declare he had helped Boris Johnson get a £800,000 loan when he was appointed to the top job.
An investigation found the Conservative Party donor had broken rules by not disclosing “potential perceived conflicts of interest".
The review by Adam Heppinstall KC revealed Mr Sharp had suggested a friend could help Mr Johnson with his financial difficulties SEVEN DAYS before his interview for the BBC job.
He neither mentioned this to the panel or the fact he had held talks with the PM on his desire to be appointed before applying.
Rishi Sunak today dodged questions on whether the government would attempt to stuff another Tory crony into the role, which is supposed to guard the BBC’s independence.
Mr Lineker tweeted: "The BBC chairman should not be selected by the government of the day.
"Not now, not ever."
The football legend was taken off air by the BBC in March after posting a tweet criticising the government’s “immeasurably cruel” immigration policy.
He accused Tory ministers of using “language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s”.
He returned to his Match Of The Day presenting role following a boycott by top on-air talent.
Mr Sunak repeatedly failed to answer questions on the BBC chairman job as attended the Scottish Conservatives conference in Glasgow.
Asked if Mr Sharp's replacement should be a non-political appointment, the PM said he was "focused on delivering for the British people".
Labour called for a "truly independent and robust process" to find a new BBC chair as shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell warned the row had done “untold damage” to public trust in the broadcaster.
Criticising Mr Sunak’s failure to oust Mr Sharp, she added: “Instead of doing what’s best for the country the PM was more interested in defending his old banking boss.
“The PM should have sacked him weeks ago. Instead it took this investigation, called by Labour, to make him resign."
Mr Sunak brought Mr Sharp, who was his boss at Goldman Sachs, into government as an economic adviser during the coronavirus pandemic.
Oliver Dowden, who is now Deputy PM, was the culture secretary who recommended Mr Sharp be given the BBC job.
A week before his interview in December 2020, Mr Sharp told Cabinet Secretary Simon Case that his friend Sam Blyth, who is a distant cousin of Mr Johnson, could help him with his finances.
Mr Heppinstall said there was a risk the public might think Mr Sunak was “beholden to the Prime Minister for his support such that his independence from Government was compromised”.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Sharp said: “I wish, with the benefit of hindsight, this potential perceived conflict of interest was something I had considered to mention.
“I would like once again to apologise for that oversight - inadvertent though it was - and for the distraction these events have caused the BBC." He will remain in post until June.
