Afternoon summary
Here’s a summary of the day’s main events:
The BBC chair Richard Sharp stood down after a report found he had breached the rules on public appointments. Sharp, who told Boris Johnson he wanted the job and whom the former prime minister backed, failed to declare his connection to a secret £800,000 loan made to Johnson.
There were calls to investigate Johnson himself over the matter. The report’s author was careful to stress that looking into the former prime minister’s role was not within his remit. That led the former commissioner for public appointments Sir Peter Riddel to call for further investigation, claiming Johnson “himself was conflicted” in the process.
The prime minister Rishi Sunak refused to rule out the appointment of another Tory donor to replace Sharp at the BBC. Asked if he could make the pledge, he said: “There’s an appointments process that happens for those appointments. I’m not going to prejudge that.”
A major health union accepted the government’s improved pay offer for NHS staff. GMB members working in the NHS in England voted by 56% to 44% to accept the deal that all 12 health unions hammered out last month with the health secretary, Steve Barclay. Unite members rejected the deal.
The ultra-conservative US presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis was hosted in the UK by the foreign secretary James Cleverly. The Florida governor is seeking to burnish his credentials ahead of a possible run against Donald Trump to be the Republican choice in the race for the White House.
We reported earlier on No 10’s attempts to keep journalists out of a selective press briefing with the prime minister (see 12.44pm).
Our Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, reports that the Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has condemned the spectacle, saying:
It was unnecessary. It shouldn’t have happened… I’ll be making the strongest possible representations to No 10 about it.
I’m acutely aware of how it looks and how it’s wrong [and] I can only act on my behalf and that’s what I’m gonna take every single one of your questions this afternoon.
@Douglas4Moray condemns No 10 press control debacle: “It was unnecessary. It shouldn't have happened… I’ll be making the strongest possible representations to No 10 about it” #SCC23 @10DowningStreet @RishiSunak
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 28, 2023
Ross: “I'm acutely aware of how it looks and how it's wrong [and] I can only act on my behalf and that's what I'm gonna take every single one of your questions this afternoon.”
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 28, 2023
Updated
NHS workers accept government pay offer
A major health union has accepted the government’s improved pay offer for NHS staff, in a move that could split unions over whether to keep on striking for more money.
GMB members working in the NHS in England have voted by 56% to 44% to accept the deal that all 12 health unions hammered out last month with the health secretary, Steve Barclay.
The GMB’s decision came hours after another key union, Unite, rejected the deal.
That means two major NHS-related unions have accepted the deal – Unison has already done so – as have unions representing midwives and physiotherapists. However, two other major unions – Unite and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – have rejected it, as have those representing podiatrists and radiographers.
Updated
Calls to investigate Boris Johnson's role in Sharp appointment
Boris Johnson’s role in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chair should be examined, the former commissioner for public appointments says.
The former prime minister “himself was conflicted” in the process, according to Sir Peter Riddell, who also said questions remain about the loan made to him.
Johnson recommended Sharp for the influential job after the latter informed him he would be telling the cabinet secretary about his friend Sam Blyth’s offer to help the then-prime minister with his financial troubles. Riddell, who was the commissioner when Sharp took on the BBC role, said Johnson’s role “hasn’t really been discussed enough” because it was outside the remit of the inquiry. He has told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme:
[Johnson] himself was conflicted … Should he have recused himself from the appointment, given he knew about Richard Sharp helping him out on this loan?
Questions remained about “conflicts involving Boris Johnson’s role and about who made the loan to him”, Riddell wrote on Twitter.
As former Commissioner for Public Appointments at time of Richard Sharp appointment I think Adam Heppinstall KC report is fair and balanced but big questions remain, outside his remit, about conflicts involving Boris Johnson’s role and about who made the loan to him.
— Peter Riddell (@_peterriddell) April 28, 2023
He also noted the “curiously murky” exchanges between Sharp and the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, and questioned whether the Cabinet Office should have told colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport scrutinising Sharp’s appointment about “what was happening with the private finances”.
Johnson has declined to comment on the inquiry’s findings.
Updated
Rishi Sunak has ruled out any further devolution of powers for Scotland after telling Conservative activists that Holyrood should be “held to account” more for underusing its existing powers.
The prime minister claimed Holyrood already had significant powers, including over income tax rates, telling delegates at the Scottish Conservatives’ annual conference in Glasgow there was therefore no case for adding to them.
“Scotland already is the most powerful devolved assembly anywhere in the world,” he said during a question-and-answer session chaired by Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader.
The SNP and the Scottish government doesn’t even use the powers they already have, so we shouldn’t start talking about any more. What we need to do is hold them to account.
His remarks suggest there will be an intense contest between Labour and the Conservatives over Scotland’s powers at the next general election, which could further divide the anti-independence vote in Scotland.
Updated
This from Gabriel Pogrund of the Sunday Times, who broke the story of how Richard Sharp was appointed BBC chair weeks after helping Boris Johnson secure a loan of up to £800,000.
So Case took no minutes of his meeting with Sharp. He never declared it publicly. He failed to tell anyone involved in the BBC appointment. And, having initially indicated Sharp flagged his BBC candidacy, now the position is unclear. He can't recall / his notes don't say. https://t.co/zJJ9zHsQGN
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) April 28, 2023
Updated
James Cleverly has been pictured meeting Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party.
On Sunday, the Guardian published a leader which argued that her government remains a threat to core European values.
Piacere di conoscerti, @GiorgiaMeloni.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) April 28, 2023
From protecting European security to tackling people smugglers, the UK and Italy are united 🇬🇧🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/dwROe6bkG0
Updated
According to Greg Hands, the Conservative chair, Scotland will be a key battleground in the next general election.
Addressing the Scottish Conservative conference in Glasgow, Hands said: “Make no mistake, Scotland is going to be a key battleground of ours in the next UK election.
“It could be that Scotland is the deciding factor in that election, whether we have a full term of Rishi Sunak or something else under Sir Keir Starmer.
“With the SNP now weakened, their nationalist agenda lying in tatters and their whole attack having been exposed as almost unbelievably shallow, now is our moment.
“It is a travesty the way this SNP government has failed Scotland.
“But we in the Conservative party have a vision of hope and we have a vision to see Scotland and the whole of our great United Kingdom prosper with Rishi Sunak’s five priorities: to halve inflation, to grow the economy, create better-paid jobs across the UK, to reduce our national debt, to cut the NHS waiting, and stopping the boats run by criminal gangs of human traffickers.”
However, he warned Tory members that with a number of seats “on a knife-edge”, the party will “need every vote we can muster”.
Humza Yousaf, the first minister and SNP leader, has already said another independence referendum would be his price for supporting Labour at Westminster, and Hands said the Tories therefore “need to show a vote for the SNP is a vote for more chaos, not just in Scotland but potentially at the UK level as well”.
He said: “We need to make our case clearly and persuade voters it is our party, the Scottish Conservatives, that is the only party that can beat the SNP in those seats.”
Updated
Labour has said that all British residents in Sudan should qualify for evacuation, with Downing Street so far rejecting calls to widen the eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.
PA reports:
Concerns have been raised that the current approach could see families split up or some members left behind, with Labour calling on ministers to use the longer window to extend eligibility for evacuation before it is “too late”.
The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan.
“At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.”
As of Thursday evening, the RAF had airlifted nearly 900 people from an airfield near the capital, Khartoum.
“We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced by Britain’s brave armed forces and FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] officials who are working around the clock, but the three-day extension to the ceasefire offers an opportunity to get more people to safety while the airlift is ongoing and there is capacity,” Lammy said.
You can follow the latest from Sudan on our dedicated live blog:
Updated
PA has this report on calls to examine the role of Boris Johnson – then prime minister – in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chair:
Boris Johnson’s role in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman should be examined, the former commissioner for public appointments has said.
Sir Peter Riddell, who was the commissioner when Sharp took on the job, said the former prime minister’s role “hasn’t really been discussed enough” because it was outside the remit of Adam Heppinstall KC’s inquiry.
He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “He himself was conflicted … Should he have recused himself from the appointment given he knew about Richard Sharp helping him out on this loan?
“Should someone in the Cabinet Office have told their colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about what was happening with the private finances?”
Richard Sharp: what happens next?
The BBC chair, Richard Sharp, has resigned after being found to have breached public appointment rules for failing to declare a connection to a secret £800,000 loan for the UK’s former prime minister Boris Johnson.
Sharp intends to step down in June.
The government will be able to select a new BBC chair on a four-year term, depriving a potential Labour government of making its own appointment until mid-2027.
Who could replace Sharp as chair of the BBC?
The government can rapidly appoint one of the BBC’s other non-executive directors as acting chair.
They include the broadcaster Muriel Gray, financier Damon Buffini, or Robbie Gibb, a board member who was previously Theresa May’s communications chief and has pushed a pro-Conservative agenda within the BBC.
The corporation’s board has no powers to block or oust a BBC chair. Only in extreme circumstances can the BBC chair be forcibly removed if ministers conclude they are “unable, unfit or unwilling” to continue.
Ron DeSantis meets James Cleverly
Ron DeSantis has been hosted in the UK by foreign secretary James Cleverly as the Florida governor seeks to burnish his credentials ahead of a possible run against Donald Trump to be the Republican choice in the race for the White House.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak, who was attending Tory conferences in Scotland and Wales, will not be meeting DeSantis, who has been criticised by the LGBTQ community over the “don’t say gay” law banning discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools, which Joe Biden’s administration has called “hateful”.
Like Trump, the Florida governor has not announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination but is widely expected to do so.
His visit presents a diplomatic challenge to ministers, who will want to be accommodating but not risk provoking the ire of Trump by being seen as taking sides in the contest.
DeSantis, who was wrapping up his trade mission in the UK after stops in Japan, South Korea and Israel, also met with business secretary Kemi Badenoch.
The foreign office said Cleverly and the governor discussed “the close and important partnership between the UK and Florida”.
“This meeting was an opportunity to strengthen ties with the fourth-largest US state, and support bilateral economic cooperation that is already worth more than £5bn a year,” a statement added.
Updated
Labour is calling for British residents who want to leave Sudan to be made eligible for evacuation, amid reports that more than 20 NHS doctors have been turned away.
A fragile ceasefire has been extended for three more days and the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, is urging his opposite number at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), James Cleverly, to use the time to help people such as Dr Abdulrahman Babiker, who works at the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan. At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.
We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced by Britain’s brave armed forces and FCDO officials who are working around the clock, but the three-day extension to the ceasefire offers an opportunity to get more people to safety while the airlift is ongoing and there is capacity.
All British nationals, close, dependent relatives of British nationals who are stuck, and British residents seeking to flee Sudan should qualify to board evacuation flights. The government must act before the ceasefire ends and it is too late.
Updated
Atom bomb testing veterans are being urged to come forward and share their stories as part of a project to chronicle their experiences and ensure their efforts are not forgotten.
There are thought to be 1,500 surviving nuclear test veterans from a cohort of ex-service personnel and civilians who contributed to Britain’s nuclear testing programme, including those serving in Australia and the South Pacific, between 1952 and 1967.
Academics want to hear from a range of veterans, including those who have never spoken about their experiences before, and they hope to record around 40 life stories.
The project, to be led by the University of South Wales and the University of Liverpool in partnership with the oral history fieldwork charity National Life Stories and the British Library, aims to capture the events on the days of the tests as well as reflecting on the long-term impact that the programme had on participants and their families.
The project also aims to create educational resources that can be used in schools to encourage the teaching of nuclear history to the next generation.
The universities and National Life Stories were awarded £250,000 in government funding in the spring budget for the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. The veterans minister Johnny Mercer said:
Our nuclear test veterans played a vital role in the creation of the British nuclear deterrent, which continues to keep us safe to this day.
Now, we’re making sure their stories are never forgotten, and can be passed down from generation to generation, so that we can remember the sacrifices they made to protect us.
Mary Stewart, from the British Library, said:
I am delighted that this important partnership will add 40 in-depth life story interviews to the British Library oral history collection, providing researchers now and in the future unparalleled insights into how veterans’ test experiences affected them throughout their lives.
Last month, atom bomb testing veterans and civilian staff were urged to apply for a commemorative medal recognising their “invaluable contribution”, to be presented from late summer.
Updated
Downing Street was forced to relent on its plans to host an invitation-only press briefing with Rishi Sunak in Glasgow after Scottish political journalists gatecrashed the briefing room en masse on Friday morning.
The prime minister’s attempts to focus on the Tories’ record in government instead became a furore over No 10’s attempts to control the media. In his opening speech an hour earlier, the Scottish Tory chair, Craig Hoy, had attacked the Scottish National party for its repeated transparency failures.
Despite complaints from the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Association – complaints vocally supported by reporters from the six hand-picked titles – No 10 had originally insisted no other newspaper would be allowed into the briefing.
In chaotic scenes, 24 newspaper reporters – who were all accredited to attend the Scottish Conservatives’ annual conference – pushed past Tory officials and went into the briefing room.
They were then joined by reporters and camera crews from Sky News, STV and BBC Scotland, who asked to be allowed to ask Sunak a single question on his reaction to Richard Sharp’s decision to quit as BBC chair.
Downing Street officials refused to allow TV crews to do so, insisting instead they agree to a brief interview with Sunak outside the briefing room. After a heated debate about that proposal and a lengthy delay, No 10 threatened to abandon the entire briefing, claiming Sunak had too little time.
When the briefing took place almost an hour late, Sunak was pressed about the chaotic handling of the briefing by a Scottish Sun reporter. He denied the press had been blocked from attending it:
That’s absolutely not my understanding of what’s happened. Just yesterday, I filmed quite an extensive interview with BBC Scotland … I’ve just done another pool clip and I’m speaking to half a dozen of you, which was always the plan.
The SPJA said:
Journalists expect to be able to hold the prime minister to account when he is in Scotland as a vital part of the democratic process. Today’s actions to restrict access are unprecedented and undermine that important principle.
Updated
Gary Lineker has commented on Sharp’s resignation:
The BBC chairman should not be selected by the government of the day. Not now, not ever.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 28, 2023
Lineker was taken off air by the broadcaster in March after posting a tweet criticising the government’s asylum policy, which then prompted criticism from some on the right and led the BBC to launch an independent review of its social media guidance for freelancers.
Updated
Sunak offers no guarantees of a 'non-political figure' to replace Sharp
Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out the appointment of a political figure to replace Sharp at the BBC, PA reports. The agency says the prime minister was unable to offer such a guarantee when speaking to media at the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow, adding:
There’s an appointments process that happens for those appointments. I’m not going to prejudge that.
Rishi Sunak’s charm offensive in Glasgow isn’t without complication. This from our Scotland editor:
BREAKING Number 10 on brink of cancelling a Scottish press briefing with PM @RishiSunak in Glasgow - the first time a PM refuses to meet Scottish newspaper reporters 1/3
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 28, 2023
Number 10 tried to handpick 6 reporters from centre-right papers & @PA - @ScotParlJournos, including six invited titles, refuse to comply & insist all reporters have access 2/3
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 28, 2023
After TV reporters ask for one question to Sunak about Sharp resignation, No 10 demand TV cameras leave to do Sharp clip later. They then threaten to cancel press briefing entirely 3/3
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) April 28, 2023
Updated
Another passage from the report makes clear Boris Johnson’s role in Sharp’s appointment:
The application deadline was 11 November 2020. On 16 November 2020, the “longlist” of candidates was provided to the secretary of state and No 10. The secretary of state authorised the process to move to the “sift-stage”. No 10 also did so and noted its support for Mr Sharp’s candidacy on 19 November.
The report adds:
No 10 commented to DCMS, on 26 November 2020, that Mr Sharp looked like a strong candidate.
And it says:
Mr Sharp was interviewed at 11.15am on 11 December 2020. He was the final candidate interviewed. The panel chair said, when interviewed for this inquiry, that No 10’s support for Richard Sharp was made known to the panel as required by the governance code and that he was the only candidate identified to the panel as having his candidacy supported by ministers.
Updated
The National Union of Journalists has welcomed Sharp’s resignation. Its general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, has said:
Richard Sharp has shamefully clung to his position as chair for months, whilst all around him could clearly see his time was up. So, of course, it is a relief and proper that he has now finally resigned.
He had lost the dressing room, he had lost the respect of senior figures in the broadcasting industry and besmirched the reputation of the BBC. Now, the BBC must move on with a new chair who can help steer the corporation through difficult times and champion public service broadcasting.
Updated
And here’s the culture secretary Lucy Frazer’s response:
Thank you for your letter notifying me of your decision to resign from your position as chair of the British Broadcasting Corporation. I understand and respect your decision to stand down.
As you have stated, the BBC is a great national institution. Over the past 100 years, it has touched the lives of almost everyone in the United Kingdom and plays a unique part in our cultural heritage. It is respected globally, reaching hundreds of millions of people across the world every week. No other country in the world has anything quite like it.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the work you have done and the leadership you have provided as chair of the BBC. You have been a champion for what a strong BBC can achieve, not only for audiences at home, but also for the BBC’s contribution to the economy and to the UK’s global soft power. I would like to express my gratitude for your work with the government to maintain the BBC World Service in its unrivalled status as the world’s largest international broadcaster, and supporting its crucial role in tackling harmful disinformation through providing trusted news and analysis globally.
I know that you are held in high regard by the BBC board. You have clearly demonstrated your commitment to public service, and I especially applaud the work you did during the pandemic. Your decision to step down in the wider interests of the corporation is further testament to that commitment.
Certainty and stability for the corporation are clearly a shared priority. In this context, I have spoken to the board and they have proposed that you stay in place until the next Board meeting on 27 June 2023, whilst an acting chair is appointed in line with the charter. I have accepted this and would like to thank you for your continued service to assist in ensuring an orderly and smooth transition takes place. We will also move to launch a process to identify and appoint a permanent new chair.
Thank you, once again, for your service and I wish you well for the future. I am sure there will be further opportunities for you to make a significant contribution to public life.
Here’s Sharp’s full resignation statement:
I would like to thank Adam Heppinstall and his team for the diligence and professionalism they have shown in compiling today’s report.
Mr Heppinstall’s view is that while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.
Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate. The secretary of state has consulted with the BBC Board who support that view.
Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC. I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term.
I have, therefore, this morning resigned as BBC chair to the secretary of state, and to the board.
It was proposed to me that I stay on as chair until the end of June while the process to appoint my successor is undertaken, and I will of course do that in the interests of the corporation’s stability and continuity.
Let me turn to the events that are the subject of today’s report.
When I sought in December 2020 to introduce the cabinet secretary to Mr (Sam) Blyth I did so in good faith. I did so with the best of intentions.
And I did so with the sole purpose of ensuring that all relevant rules were being followed.
I am pleased that Mr Heppinstall supports the fact that my involvement in these matters was accordingly “very limited”.
He states that he is “happy to record” that he has seen no evidence – and nor could he – to say I played any part whatsoever in the facilitation, arrangement, or financing of a loan for the former prime minister.
During my conversation with the cabinet secretary on 4 December 2020, I reminded him of the fact that I was in the BBC appointments process.
I believed, as a result of that conversation, that I had been removed from any conflict or perception of conflict. I understood this recusal to be absolute.
This was my error. In my subsequent interview with the appointments panel 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.
For more than 20 years, I have devoted time and energy to public service, whether at the Institute for Cancer Research, at the Royal Academy of Arts, on the financial policy committee of the Bank of England, or as an economic advisor to the Treasury working to protect British business, including the creative industries, during the pandemic.
For more than two years, I have seen the beating heart of the BBC up close. And for all its complexities, successes, and occasional failings, the BBC is an incredible, dynamic, and world beating creative force, unmatched anywhere.
As chair, I have acted at all times in the public interest, and for the betterment of the BBC. I am proud to have fought for the recent return of government funding for the World Service. I have been active in commissioning independent thematic reviews of BBC coverage on touchstone issues.
And I have championed the importance of the BBC as a well-funded and impartial public service broadcaster.
To chair this incredible organisation has been an honour. The BBC’s contribution to our national life is immense, its people are hardworking and brilliant, and preserving and enhancing it matters.
The BBC has been “dragged through the mud” over the appointment of Sharp, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has said.
The British people won’t stand for any more of this. Everything Conservative politicians touch turns into a mess. They are not fit to govern our great country.
Boris Johnson should never have been allowed to appoint Richard Sharp in the first place and what’s worse is Rishi Sunak didn’t show leadership by sacking him.
We need a rigorous, transparent and independent process to appoint the next BBC chair, including a confirmation vote by parliament’s cross-party culture, media and sport committee.
Updated
Sharp has 'caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC'
Labour has accused the Tories of “doing everything they can to defend themselves and their mates” after the release of the report into Sharp’s appointment. The shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, has said:
I have this morning received the report of the investigation into Richard Sharp which Labour instigated.
The report is clear: Mr Sharp breached the rules expected of candidates by failing to disclose his involvement in a personal loan to the then PM.
As a result, this breach has caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservatives’ sleaze and cronyism.
This comes after 13 years of the Tories doing everything they can to defend themselves and their mates. From Owen Patterson to Dominic Raab, and now Richard Sharp, instead of doing what’s best for the country the prime minister was more interested in defending his old banking boss. The prime minister should have sacked him weeks ago. Instead it took this investigation, called by Labour, to make him resign.
Rishi Sunak should urgently establish a truly independent and robust process to replace Sharp to help restore the esteem of the BBC after his government has tarnished it so much.
Updated
The full report has now been released. Here’s one of the key passages:
Mr Sharp informed the former prime minister (Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson MP) that he wished to apply to be chair of the BBC board, before he made his application in November 2020.
Mr Sharp also informed the former prime minister, before he was interviewed, that he was going to meet the cabinet secretary so as to attempt to introduce to him a person who had made a suggestion that he might assist the former prime minister with his personal finances. Mr Sharp said he met the cabinet secretary, on 4 December 2020, and informed him of this suggestion, so that the cabinet secretary could ensure that any assistance given to the former prime minister by this third party complied with any applicable rules and so that he would have no further involvement with the matter. This inquiry has not considered, nor does it make any findings about, any matter related to the former prime minister’s personal finances.
These matters gave rise to a potential perceived conflict of interest. There is a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp was recommended for appointment because he assisted (to the very limited extent of attempting to make the introduction to the cabinet secretary mentioned above) the former prime minister in a private financial matter, and/or that he influenced the former prime minister to recommend him by informing him of his application before he submitted it. There may well have been a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp would not be independent from the former prime minister, if appointed. I make no findings about whether Mr Sharp had any intention of seeking to influence the former prime minister in this manner. I cannot and do not judge his independence in office. I note that I have been told that the introduction to the cabinet secretary never happened, in the sense that the cabinet secretary never met nor was in contact with the person.
Both these non-disclosures caused a breach of the governance code because the panel was unable at the time to advise ministers on these matters. DCMS and the panel bear no responsibility for this breach.
Sharp, a former Conservative party donor, was appointed in 2021. It subsequently emerged he had failed to disclose during the application process that he had helped an acquaintance seeking to offer a secret £800,000 personal loan guarantee for Johnson.
MPs had criticised Sharp for “significant errors of judgment” in failing to declare the potential conflict of interest, and the commissioner for public appointments launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding him getting the job.
Sources told the Guardian last week the report was expected to be “very uncomfortable” for Sharp, potentially placing his future as BBC chair in doubt.
In February, Sharp faced an often uncomfortable grilling by MPs on the culture, media and sport committee, at which he revealed that he personally informed Johnson and Rishi Sunak that he wanted the job before he applied.
Updated
Sharp tendered his resignation this morning, having long faced calls to quit because, when applying for the job of BBC chair, he did not disclose his role in helping the then-prime minister Boris Johnson get access to a loan facility, reportedly worth about £800,000.
Sharp’s resignation comes a month after the former BBC director-general John Birt said that the appointment should not have stood because he was an “unsuitable candidate” in a “fatally flawed” process. Earlier this morning, the senior former BBC correspondent Jon Sopel said:
Have been told by a v senior BBC manager that he knows of no one - literally no one - who believes Richard Sharp should stay on as chairman https://t.co/ljpmlZYrtA
— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) April 28, 2023
Sharp resigns as BBC chair
Richard Sharp has resigned as BBC chair after an official report found he breached the rules for public appointments. He said he was quitting to “prioritise the interests” of the broadcaster after the report by Adam Heppinstall was published.
Mr Heppinstall’s view is that, while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.
Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate. The secretary of state has consulted with the BBC board who support that view.
Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC. I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term. I have, therefore, this morning resigned as BBC chair to the secretary of state, and to the board.
Updated
The report into how Richard Sharp was recommended for the job of BBC chair by Boris Johnson has not yet been published, but the former prime minister is facing questions this morning:
'Did Mr Sharp help you with your loan?'
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) April 28, 2023
Boris Johnson appears ahead of the publication of a report into the BBC chairman's links to the former prime minister pic.twitter.com/f1JDFRH5ji
Douglas Ross has denied ever recommending tactical voting, despite using an interview with the Daily Telegraph to urge people to get behind whoever is the strongest candidate in their area to beat the SNP.
The Scottish Conservative leader’s interview caused consternation in his own party last month. He told the paper:
I will always encourage Scottish Conservative voters to vote Scottish Conservative. But I think generally the public can see – and they want the parties to accept – that, where there is the strongest candidate to beat the SNP, you get behind that candidate.
Within hours, a Tory spokesman in London said it was “emphatically not” their position, while a report in the Scotsman quoted senior Tory MSPs saying they were not consulted about the comments.
Ross is expected to use his conference speech on Friday to tell party members the best way to beat the SNP is to vote Conservative. Speaking to the BBC on Friday, he claimed never to have backed the idea of tactical voting. Asked if he wanted Tory voters to back Labour in some seats to remove the SNP, he said:
No, and I’ve never said that. In fact, the words I used were exactly the same words the prime minister used in his interview with the BBC yesterday. I’m Scottish Conservative leader and I will always encourage people to vote Scottish Conservative.
We know in many seats that Scottish Conservatives are the best-placed party to beat the SNP.
So at the next next general election, which is coming next year, if people want to send a message to Humza Yousaf to say: concentrate on the real priorities of people across Scotland, not your obsession with another independence referendum, vote Scottish Conservative so we can beat the SNP.
Updated
BBC chair faces calls to quit ahead of report
Richard Sharp “will have to go” from his role at the BBC if he is found to have broken the code for public appointments by facilitating a loan for Boris Johnson, a senior opposition figure says. The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, told Sky News:
If it is revealed that he has failed to declare the details of this loan arrangement properly or failed to be forthcoming in the process, then of course he will have to go.
A report investigating the matter is expected to be released on Friday morning, and Haigh said an independent panel to look into the issue of public appointments has been established in the opposition. She added:
It’s been really concerning to see how the government has sat back and done very little about the potential breaches in the process, and did nothing to help restore trust and faith in the impartiality of the BBC.
I think this whole saga raises wider issues around the way that the government has approached the BBC and the particular links of the Tory party with the BBC.
Elsewhere today, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, will claim his Conservative government in Westminster is delivering for Scotland and the whole of the UK, while accusing the SNP administration at Holyrood of focusing on “constitutional abstractions”.
And the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, looks set to use his conference speech to row back on previous comments suggesting a push for tactical voting to unseat the SNP in Scotland.
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