‘Regressive’ licence fee could be replaced by a broadband tax or a levy based on property value, says Richard Sharp
The former BBC chair Richard Sharp has suggested that wealthier families may have to pay more to access the corporation’s services.
The “regressive” licence fee system could be replaced by a tax on broadband bills or a household levy based on property value, Richard Sharp told the Daily Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast.
Continue reading...PM has been accused of defending his former boss, but affair offers chance to put his own stamp on the corporation
Rishi Sunak used to work for Richard Sharp at Goldman Sachs. He brought him into government as an adviser during the pandemic. And on Friday he formally accepted his resignation as BBC chair.
Given the pair’s long relationship, Sharp’s resignation after failing to declare his role in facilitating an £800,000 loan for the former prime minister Boris Johnson might be expected to cause a political problem for the prime minister.
Continue reading...Conservative party accused of undermining broadcaster by flooding it with cronies after chair’s resignation
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to stop appointing Conservatives to key positions at the BBC after Richard Sharp’s resignation prompted criticism the party had undermined the broadcaster by flooding it with cronies.
Sharp quit as BBC chair on Friday morning after an investigation concluded he had failed to disclose key information about his relationship with the former prime minister Boris Johnson when applying for the job in 2021. Sharp helped facilitate an £800,000 loan guarantee for Johnson when he was in the running to take over the broadcaster but did not tell the appointments panel.
Continue reading...Report expected imminently will detail how Sharp came to be recommended for job by Boris Johnson
A potentially damning report on how Richard Sharp was recommended for the job of BBC chair by Boris Johnson is expected to be published on Friday morning.
Sources say the report, by the barrister Adam Heppinstall KC, could prove uncomfortable reading for Sharp.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here
PMQs is starting in five minutes.
The Cabinet Office has just published the revised list of ministers’ interests. This is the document that is supposed get updated every six months, but which has not been updated for around a year – partly because it’s the job of the No 10 independent adviser on ministes’ interests (aka, the ethics adviser), and for months the post was empty because two of Boris Johnson’s resigned, and then he gave up trying to find a replacement.
The prime minister’s wife is a venture capital investor. She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings.
As the prime minister set out in his letter to the chair of the liaison committee on 4 April 2023, this includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in relation to the company, Koru Kids. The guide to the categories of interest (section 7, pages 4-6) sets out the independent adviser’s approach to the inclusion of interests declared in relation to spouses, partners and close family members within the list. The prime minister’s letter of 4 April is available at https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/38992/documents/191876/default/
Continue reading...Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartiality
BBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.
The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row.
Continue reading...Corporation is risking its reputation by making an example of its highest-paid star over his tweets on asylum policy
The BBC’s decision to take Gary Lineker off air leaves its most outspoken personality with a potentially career-defining decision, as the corporation looks to risk its reputation to make a public example of one of its biggest stars.
Lineker’s politically loaded tweets about the government’s new asylum policy – followed by a pledge to stand by his comments – had left the BBC in an almost impossible position, balancing impartiality with freedom of expression by its staff.
Continue reading...PM says he does not want to prejudge inquiry and that appointment was made after the ‘correct process’
Rishi Sunak has rejected calls for Richard Sharp to stand down as BBC chairman, despite the businessman failing to declare his role in arranging a secret £800,000 personal loan for Boris Johnson.
Sharp has been criticised by MPs for “significant errors of judgement” over his failure to mention his role in helping to arrange the loan for the former prime minister in early 2020. Johnson later appointed Sharp, a Conservative party donor, to oversee the BBC’s board.
Continue reading...Controversial MP appointed as Greg Hands’ deputy; Michelle Donelan becomes minister for science, innovation and technology
This is from TalkTV’s Kate McCann.
“Next hour or so …” We’ll see. Reshuffles often take longer than expected, because all it takes is one minister to say no, or ask for time to think, and then the whole process gets clogged up. There is already some evidence that this one is not going to be quite as quick as originally expected. (See 8.30am.)
Continue reading...Downing Street spokesperson also says inquiry into former chancellor’s affairs to be ‘conducted swiftly’
There are two urgent questions in the Commons later. At 12.30pm Caroline Lucas (Green) is asking one about the child asylum seekers who have gone missing from hotel accommodation provided by the Home Office, and that will be followed by Ben Bradshaw (Lab) asking one about the Church of England’s stance on equal marriage.
After those are over Damian Hinds, the justice minister, will deliver a statement about the probation inspectorate.
Continue reading...Labour MP asks whether Zahawi statement in the summer was untrue, with Cabinet Office minister saying he does not know the answer
Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative party chair, has welcomed the decision by Rishi Sunak to ask the No 10 ethics adviser to investigate his case. “I am confident I acted properly throughout,” Zahawi said.
Zahawi seems to be using a narrow definition of “properly”. In the statement he issued yesterday, he accepted that his original decision not to pay the tax that HM Revenue and Customs subsequently concluded he should have paid was down to a careless error. He said:
Following discussions with HMRC, they agreed that my father was entitled to founder shares in YouGov, though they disagreed about the exact allocation. They concluded that this was a ‘careless and not deliberate’ error.
Integrity and accountability is really important to me and clearly in this case there are questions that need answering …
That’s why the independent adviser has been asked to fully investigate this matter and provide advice to me on Nadhim Zahawi’s compliance with the ministerial code, and on the basis of that we’ll decide on the appropriate next steps.
Continue reading...Reports Richard Sharp helped ex-PM arrange guarantee on £800,000 loan before he was recommended for job
Labour is calling for an investigation after claims that the BBC chair helped Boris Johnson arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 weeks before he was recommended for the job by the then prime minister.
The party has written to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, after a report in the Sunday Times that Tory donor Richard Sharp was involved in talks about financing Johnson when he found himself in financial difficulty in late 2020.
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