Can the BBC’s chairman carry on?

It’s more bad news for the Beeb with a stinging set of Sunday papers today. The Culture select committee has released a report in the appointment of Richard Sharp as the Corporation’s chairman – and it makes for damning reading. The MPs accuse him of failing to publicly divulge his role in facilitating an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson by omitting key details in introducing Johnson to businessman Sam Blyth. He is accused of making ‘significant errors of judgement’ and undermining the selection process for his role.

The omissions ‘constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals’ applying for top public jobs. And while the MPs stop short of calling for Sharp to go, their conclusions suggest his future at the BBC ought to now be in doubt. The committee find that the chairman ‘should consider the impact his omissions will have on trust in him, the BBC and the public appointments process’.