Former Goldman Sachs partner Richard Sharp to become BBC chair

Richard Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs partner and adviser to the chancellor, is to be made chair of the BBC in a move suggesting Boris Johnson’s government is taking a more restrained approach to the public service broadcaster.

The appointment, which is expected to be announced within days, came after Mr Johnson’s favoured candidate for the post, Charles Moore, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph and a fierce critic of the BBC, ruled himself out of the running last year.

Mr Sharp’s selection, which was confirmed by people familiar with the process, will be greeted with some relief within the BBC. Senior executives had feared the appointment of an arch critic such as Lord Moore could hamstring the corporation and its new director-general, Tim Davie.

The non-executive chair is responsible for overseeing an “independent” BBC, and ensuring it fulfils its public commitments under the BBC charter. It is the first of a wave of new appointments to the BBC board, which could potentially reorientate priorities at the top of the corporation.

Negotiations are also expected to begin this year on the level of the TV licence fee, a crucial discussion that will run in parallel to various reviews into the role of public service broadcasting and its regulatory framework. The fee is £157.50 a year and a licence is required to watch live TV on any channel or any BBC programmes on iPlayer, the corporation’s on-demand service.

Mr Johnson’s government has had notably tetchy relations with the BBC, questioning alleged bias in its coverage, its funding model and the criminal penalties that back up collection of the licence fee.

Mr Davie has steadied relations with Downing Street since taking over in September, in part by taking a tough approach against “opinionated” staff whose views were undermining the BBC’s impartiality. Government insiders say plans to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee have been shelved.

Mr Sharp does not have a background in broadcasting and has said little in public about the BBC. But he brings extensive experience in business and has close ties at the top of government.

A Conservative party donor who was previously chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss at Goldman Sachs, Mr Sharp has been giving his former subordinate unpaid advice on the economic response to the pandemic.

He has served on the Bank of England’s financial policy committee and was a member of Mr Johnson’s board of economic advisers when he was mayor of London. Mr Sharp is also a former chair of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Mr Sharp will succeed David Clementi, another prominent figure in the City of London who served as deputy governor of the Bank of England, when he steps down in February. The appointment was first reported by Sky News.