14 February 2023 , 10:00
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Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby has called for an embattled BBC chief to "fall on his sword" following a row over an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.
Corporation chairman Richard Sharp apologised for acting as a go-between by introducing his friend, Canadian businessman Sam Blyth to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in 2020.
Mr Blyth, a distant cousin of the ex-Prime Minister, was offering to assist Mr Johnson who was struggling to fund his lavish lifestyle.
Mr Sharp was slammed for "serious errors of judgement" by MPs at the weekend after he failed to declare his role in the matter when applying to BBC chairman while Mr Johnson was PM.
Rishi Sunak has stood by the under-fire BBC Chairman but calls are mounting on him to quit.
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Mr Dimbleby said the row was causing a "great deal of damage for the BBC" and said Mr Sharp should stand aside.
Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby (Surrey Advertiser)He told BBC Newsnight: "I have no doubt he is an honourable man, no reason do I have to doubt that.
"But what he should do honourably is to fall on his sword and say' in the interest of the BBC which I care about I don't want this to go on and on and on, I shall stand aside'."
Former journalist Baroness Wheatcroft, who sits on the Lords Communications and Digital Committee, also said he should resign from the "plum job".
"Mr Sharp may be a very honourable man but there's no getting away from the fact he helped to organise an £800,000 loan that would get the prime minister out of financial trouble, he did him a favour just when he wanted the Prime Minister to give him the top job at the BBC," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Boris Johnson has denied that Richard Sharp knew anything about his finances (James Veysey/TalkTV/REX/Shutterstock)"Even if Mr Sharp behaved absolutely correctly, it doesn't look right, it doesn't smell right, and it doesn't feel right for the BBC to have a chairman who is now being questioned about his judgment.
"What the BBC needs in a chairman is impeccable judgment."
It comes after a report from the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said Mr Sharp failed to declare to MPs his role in facilitating the arrangement when he was applying for the job.
The MPs said his actions "constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals" applying for prominent public appointments.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Mr Sunak said on Monday he will await the outcome of the inquiry ordered by the Commissioner for Public Appointments despite calls from Labour for Mr Sharp to go.
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Downing Street said Mr Sunak supports Mr Sharp in the role, and was "confident" in the "process" that led to his appointment.
In response to the MPs' report, a spokesman for Mr Sharp said he "appreciates that there was information that the committee felt that it should have been made aware of in his pre-appointment hearing".
"He regrets this and apologises," the spokesman said.
"It was in seeking at the time to ensure that the rules were followed, and in the belief that this had been achieved, that Mr Sharp acted in good faith in the way he did."
Boris Johnson previously branded the row "a load of complete nonsense" and said Mr Sharp knew nothing about his finances, adding: "I can tell you that for 100% ding dang sure."