Richard Sharp: Review begins into BBC chairman's appointment

The process of hiring BBC chairman Richard Sharp is to be reviewed by the Commissioner of Public Appointments William Shawcross.

It comes after claims emerged Mr Sharp was involved in securing a loan of up to £800,000 for the then-prime minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Shawcross said his review would ensure the process had been "run in compliance" with government rules.

Mr Sharp said he "simply connected" people and did not arrange financing.

According to The Sunday Times, Mr Sharp was involved in discussions about a loan worth up to £800,000 for Mr Johnson in late 2020.

Mr Sharp - a former Goldman Sachs banker - was announced as the government's choice for the new BBC chairman in January 2021.

Mr Shawcross announced the review after being asked by Labour's Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell.

He said: "The role of the commissioner is to oversee the public appointments process and ensure appointments are made fairly, openly and on merit.

"I intend to review this competition to assure myself and the public that the process was run in compliance with the government's governance code for public appointments, using my powers under the order in council 2019 and the governance code."

He has asked for relevant documents from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport.

Some public jobs, such as the governor of the Bank of England or the chairman of the BBC, are appointed by government ministers.

The commissioner for public appointments, William Shawcross, is in charge of regulating these public appointments - ensuring they were made on merit after a fair, open and transparent process.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.