BBC chief resigns over Boris Johnson loan hype

The BBC chairman resigned on Friday after a report found that he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a 2021 loan for Boris Johnson, who was the UK prime minister at the time.

The state-funded national broadcaster has come under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharpe helped set up a line of credit weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on government recommendation.

An £800,000 ($1 million) line of credit was provided by wealthy Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, who was introduced to Johnson by Sharpe, a donor to the Conservative Party. Johnson was the leader of the party and also the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Sharpe said he was leaving to “put the BBC’s best interests first” after “unintentionally” breaking the rules.

“I feel that this issue could very well detract from the good work of the corporation if I remain in this position until the end of my term,” he said.

Sharpe said he would remain in his position at the BBC until the end of June while the search for a successor continued.

Senior Associate Adam Heppustun’s report on the incident, released Friday, said Sharp “failed to disclose potential alleged conflicts of interest.”

The investigation is the latest embarrassment for the 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by license fees paid by all television-owning households and is required to be unbiased in its news coverage.

The public broadcaster is often political football, with some members of the conservative government seeing its news as left-leaning, and some liberals accusing it of being conservative.

The BBC was engulfed in a storm over free speech and political bias in March when its leading sportscaster, former English footballer Gary Lineker, criticized the government’s immigration policy on social media.

Lineker was suspended and then reinstated after other sportscasters, analysts and Premier League players boycotted the BBC in solidarity.

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