BBC director resigns following accusatory report

Richard Sharp, chairman of the UK state broadcaster BBC, has announced his resignation after a report found him in breach of the governance code for public appointments. The probe uncovered that he had withheld information over his involvement with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s finances, before getting the top job at the media network. Sharp insisted that while he “did breach the governance code for public appointments,” the lapse was “inadvertent and not material.” He will remain in office until June when a successor is appointed. Sharp claims he acted “in good faith” and “with the best of intentions” when he introduced Canadian multi-millionaire Sam Blyth to the then-prime minister in December 2020. The allegations against Sharp made by The Times saw multiple Labour lawmakers call for an investigation into the case and for the BBC’s chair resignation, but Sharp eventually spoke in favor of such a review himself.