Richard Sharp Resigns as BBC Chairman Following Report of Conflict of Interest in Loan Arrangement

The BBC, Britain’s publicly funded national broadcaster, has been under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharp helped arrange an 800,000 pound ($1 million) line of credit weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation.

The loan was arranged for Boris Johnson, who was the U.K.’s prime minister at the time, and was provided by wealthy Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, a distant cousin of Johnson’s. Sharp, a Conservative Party donor, introduced Blyth to Johnson.

On Friday, Sharp resigned as chairman of the BBC after a report found he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging the loan. In a statement, Sharp said he was quitting to “prioritize the interests of the BBC” after making an “inadvertent” breach of the BBC’s code of conduct.

The BBC has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months, with critics accusing the broadcaster of bias and a lack of transparency. The resignation of Sharp is likely to further fuel these criticisms.

The BBC has yet to announce a successor to Sharp, but the government has said it will begin the process of finding a new chairman soon. In the meantime, the BBC will be led by its deputy chairman, Sir David Clementi.