Dame Elan Closs Stephens appointed as interim BBC chair after Richard Sharp saga

Dame Elan has been appointed by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to replace Richard Sharp, who resigned after an investigation found he breached the rules for public appointments

Dame Elan Closs Stephens has been appointed interim chairwoman of the BBC (

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Dame Elan Closs Stephens has been appointed interim chairman of the BBC, the government has announced.

This comes after Richard Sharp resigned following a damning report that found he breached the governance code for public appointments.

Mr. Sharp - who was Rishi Sunak's boss when he was an investment banker - had been called upon to resign since it emerged he had helped Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan.

Tory party donor Mr Sharp staunchly refused to do so for months until a report by solicitor Adam Hepp installed KC. found that he "failed to disclose perceived potential conflicts of interest".

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has appointed Dame Elan after consultation with the BBC's board, the company has announced.

Dame Elan will replace Mr. Sharp when he leaves on June 27, and will remain in the role until a permanent chairman is recruited - a process that is expected to take several months.

Richard Sharp helped Boris Johnson secure a personal loan before he was appointed to the BBC's top job (

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BBC)

She said, "It is a tremendous honor to be appointed by the Secretary of State as Acting President and I am grateful to my fellow board members for placing their trust in me.

"As a board, we will advocate for the license fee payer across the UK; ensure the BBC is a key partner for the UK's creative industries; maintain trust and drive change to adapt the BBC to a rapidly changing media landscape There is a lot of work to be done.”

She will be responsible for restoring trust in the BBC following the disturbing saga.

Dame Elan has been a non-executive director of the BBC's board since July 2017, and before that she was a director of...