BBC Chief Resigns After Loan to Boris Johnson Controversy

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The chairperson of the BBC stepped down on Friday after it was found that he did not share information about a possible tie between himself and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The UK’s national broadcaster is currently under scrutiny since they discovered Richard Sharp helped arrange a loan for Johnson before Sharp was appointed to his BBC position by the government.

Sam Blyth, a wealthy Canadian businessman, gave British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson an 800,000 pound ($1 million) loan. This was introduced to Johnson by Sharp, a donor to the Conservative Party. However, Sharp decided to quit his post so that he can prioritize the interests of the BBC, due to inadvertently breaking some rules. He said he wanted to avoid being a distraction from the good work of the corporation even if he stays in post until his term ends.

Tim Sharp announced he will stay with the BBC until the end of June while they look for someone else to do his job. A report by Adam Heppinstall that was released on Friday said Tim failed to tell everyone about possible conflicts of interest. This is an embarrassing problem for the 100-year-old BBC since it gets money from TV watchers and must show news in an unbiased way.

The government and some people often disagree about the news shown on public broadcasting networks. In March, this disagreement lead to an uproar when a famous former England soccer player named Gary Lineker said something negative about the immigration policy of the government on social media.

Lineker was banned from the BBC, but after other sports broadcasters, commentators and Premier League footballers showed their support by not going on air, Lineker was allowed back.