Richard Sharp says no conflict of interest in appointment as BBC chair

Richard Sharp has insisted he had no conflict of interest when he was appointed the chair of the BBC by Boris Johnson, despite allegations he helped secure a loan of up to 800,000 for the prime minister only a week earlier.

The BBC chair said on Tuesday he was confident he was given the job in 2021 on merit and said he would not step down.

His comments came after the Sunday Times revealed that during the application process, Sharp had introduced his friend Sam Blyth, who was proposing to guarantee a loan to Johnson, to the cabinet secretary, Simon Case.

Sharp told the BBC in an interview: Having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding a conflict and the perception of conflict I felt comfortable and I still feel there was no conflict.

At that stage what I was seeking to do was to ensure the process was followed exactly by the book. The process hadnt started, of any kind, in terms of any support that Sam [Blyth] was going to provide to the prime minister.