Labor attacks 'comfortable relationships' as BBC chair inquiry chief steps down

Sign up for Inside Politics email for your briefing free daily on the biggest stories in British politicsGet our free Inside Politics emailPlease enter a valid email addressPlease enter a valid email addressI would like to be notified by email about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice{{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}An error has occurred. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The head of a BBC presidential nomination inquiry who got the job weeks after he claimed he helped Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan has resigned.

Public Appointments Commissioner William Shawcross said he recused himself from the inquiry into Richard Sharp's appointment because he had met Mr. Sharp in the past.

Mr. Shawcross had planned to carry out an investigation into whether the rules were correctly followed, after reports that Mr Sharp helped then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson secure the loan.

But in a letter to the Chairman of the Committee for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Monday, Mr Shawcross wrote: "As I have met Mr Sharp on several occasions, I have decided to recuse myself from this particular investigation.

"I will delegate my powers as Commissioner under the 2019 Executive Order to an independent individual to be appointed by my office for this one investigation.

"T they will have sole responsibility and will be supported by my officials."

He added that he will continue all of his other regulatory duties as Commissioner.

The Secretary to the ghost culture of work, Lucy Powell, shared Mr. Shawcross's letter on Twitter, adding, "It took him a week to realize a conflict of interest, sharing these warm relations.

"The truth must come out of this appointment."

Mr. Sharp must be questioned by the MPs on the DCMS committee next month for evidence he gave at a pre-nomination hearing.

The former banker had previously been called to stand down after he emerged that in late 2020 he introduced Sam Blyth to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to discuss whether Mr Blyth, a distant cousin of Mr Johnson whom Mr Sharp has known for more than 40 years, could act as as guarantor of a loan facility for the Prime Minister.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Johnson had been warned by officials in December 2020 to stop asking Mr Sharp for advice on his personal financial matters, just days before the latter was announced as the new chairman of the BBC on January 2 021.