The BBC president helped Johnson with a loan before the latter recommended him for the role

The chairman of the British public broadcaster BBC, Richard Sharphelped the ex-prime minister Boris Johnson to get a credit close to 800,000 pounds (911,000 euros). He did it weeks before the then head of government recommended him for the position, published this Sunday Sunday Times.

sharp, old senior officer of the bank Goldman Sachs and personal adviser to the former British Prime Minister during his time as mayor of London, introduced the Canadian millionaire Sam Blyth to the then Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, to address the issue of the credit, details the medium.

Both Sharp and Blyth had participated in a dinner in late 2020 where they discussed ways to solve Johnson’s financial problems. The former prime minister had difficulties to cover his expenses with the salary of prime ministerof about 165,000 pounds (188,000 euros): as he alleged, the maintenance of seven recognized children with three women and the redecoration of the official residence on Downing Street suffocated his accounts.

Blyth, in this way, offered to act as guarantor of a credit for the prime minister and the current president of the BBCwhich has also donated 400,000 pounds to the Conservative Party (455,000 euros), acted as intermediaryalthough he did not mention it when applying for a position that requires declaring any “conflicts of interest.”

“There is no conflict because i just plugged inat his request, to Mr. Blyth with the cabinet secretary and I was not involved in any other way,” the president of the public broadcaster told Sunday Times. A spokesman for the former prime minister told the newspaper that “Richard Sharp has never offered financial advice none to Boris Johnson, nor has he asked him”.

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Apparently Sharp agreed to help and in the first week of December arrived in Downing Street to discuss the matter with Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary and Head of Civil Service. Sharp then introduced him to Blyth and subsequently spoke to Johnson. The three involved -Johnson, Sharp and Blyth- had a private dinner at Checkers before consummating the loan. According to an anonymous statement to Sunday Timesin this appointment they ate chop suey and drank wine. In addition, the diners insist they did not discuss finances.

The ethics and decorum team at the Cabinet Office wrote a letter at the end of December formal letter telling Johnson to stop seeking advice Sharp about his personal finances, given the upcoming BBC appointment. So, the former prime minister had already selected Sharp as their preferred candidate. Days later, on January 6, 2021, Oliver Dowden (at that time secretary of culture) announced him as the Government’s choice for the position, with a salary of 160,000 pounds sterling a year (about 182,000 euros).

According to the statutes of the BBCthe president of this public channel is appointed by the Royal Family on the recommendation of the prime minister and the secretary of culture. Thus, managers receive advice from a four-person nominating panel, which must conduct a “fair and open” competition. Anyone can apply, though the government has the last word and you can repeat the contest if you don’t like the shortlisted candidates.

As network sources now maintain, Sharp never revealed his involvement in Johnson’s finances. The business it was not mentioned during his previous hearing to the appointment as president of the BBC before a select committee of the House of Commons, in February 2021. The bases of employment, in fact, specify that you cannot aspire to a public position if it does not entail a conflict of interest.

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And it is also emphasized that applicants must report “any problem in your personal or professional history that, if appointed, could be misconstrued, cause embarrassment, or jeopardize public confidence in the appointment.” And Sharp, apart from this brokerage, had been a longtime friend of Johnson’s. And Blyth’s since the 1980s. Although he has always there has been a relationship between the political parties and the leadership of the BBC, there is no precedent acquainted with a prime minister who selected a person who was helping with personal finances.

Following this news, the Labor Party has sued the Parliamentary Standards Committee an “urgent investigation” considering that public officials “should not be placed under any financial or other obligation regarding individuals or outside organizations that may influence the performance of their official duties”.