Labour calls for investigation into appointment process for BBC chair after Boris Johnson ‘sleaze’ allegations | Politics News
Labor is calling for an investigation into the BBC’s chairman appointment process following “sleazy” claims.
The man who currently holds the leading role, Richard Sharp, is said to have helped Boris Johnson secure a secured loan before being offered the job.
Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell wrote to Commissioner for Public Appointments, William Shawcross CVO, asking him to investigate the appointment process.
Labor is available reported Mr. Johnson to the Commissioner of Parliament on Standards after the Sunday Times article, which his spokesman described as “trash”.
Mr Sharp has also denied a conflict of interest, but calls for clarity are growing after Secretary of State James Cleverly evaded answers to the story in media rounds this morning.
Ms. Powell said the BBC was meant to be impartial and that “it is important that the public and congress can trust the process and that it does not have any real or perceived conflicts of interest”.
“Accordingly, I urge you to investigate this process and satisfy the public and Congress with its integrity,” she said in her letter.
Sunday Times reports that Mr Sharp, a Tory donor, has been involved in arranging a guarantor for a loan of up to £800,000 to Mr Johnson by the end of 2020.
Mr Sharp told the paper he had people “simply connected” and had no conflicts of interest, while a spokesman for Mr Johnson insisted his financial arrangements “have been properly disclosed”. corpse”.
Lord Kerslake, the former director of the Civil Service, told Sky News there should be an independent inquiry into the complaints – either through a parliamentary select committee or by the prime minister’s new ethics adviser – so events can be “fully set”.
“The BBC’s presidency is a very important position for the country and you want the process of appointing a new person to be completely clean,” he said.
“The problem we have here is that we only have half the information, which is a collection of stories that have not been fully verified and that’s why I agree that it needs to be investigated independently. create.
“There are many ways this could be looked at, and the facts have been fully verified, including to what extent the prime minister himself knew and participated in the discussions taking place here. .”
Earlier, cabinet minister James Cleverly defended Mr Sharp’s appointment, saying he had “no doubt” that the chairman was given the job “based on merit”.
But he admitted he had not tried to contact Mr Johnson about the Sunday Times story, telling Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “You’re a journalist not me.”
This was criticized by some Labor MPs, with Louise Haigh, shadow transport secretary, tweeting: “We were all briefed before taking to the media. Or you He purposely didn’t ask the question or purposely didn’t give the answer.”
