Richard Sharp ‘has caused untold damage’ to BBC reputation, claims Labour, after chair quits – UK politics live

Sharp has ’caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC’

Labour has accused the Tories of “doing everything they can to defend themselves and their mates” after the release of the report into Sharp’s appointment. The shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, has said:

I have this morning received the report of the investigation into Richard Sharp which Labour instigated.

The report is clear: Mr Sharp breached the rules expected of candidates by failing to disclose his involvement in a personal loan to the then PM.

As a result, this breach has caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservatives’ sleaze and cronyism.

This comes after 13 years of the Tories doing everything they can to defend themselves and their mates. From Owen Patterson to Dominic Raab, and now Richard Sharp, instead of doing what’s best for the country the prime minister was more interested in defending his old banking boss. The prime minister should have sacked him weeks ago. Instead it took this investigation, called by Labour, to make him resign.

Rishi Sunak should urgently establish a truly independent and robust process to replace Sharp to help restore the esteem of the BBC after his government has tarnished it so much.

Updated at 05.30 EDT

Key events

Labour have said that all British residents in Sudan should qualify for evacuation, amid Downing Street has so far rejecting calls to widen the eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.

PA reports:

It comes amid criticism of the pace of the UK evacuation, which was bought more time after a three-day extension to the ceasefire was agreed.

Concerns have been raised that the current approach could see families split up or some members left behind, with Labour calling on ministers to use the longer window to extend eligibility for evacuation before it is “too late”.

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan.

“At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.”

As of Thursday evening, the RAF had airlifted nearly 900 people from an airfield near the capital Khartoum.

“We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced by Britain’s brave armed forces and FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) officials who are working around the clock, but the three-day extension to the ceasefire offers an opportunity to get more people to safety while the airlift is ongoing and there is capacity,” Lammy said.

PA has this report on calls to examine the role of Boris Johnson – then prime minister – in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chair:

Boris Johnson’s role in the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman should be examined, the former commissioner for public appointments has said.

Sir Peter Riddell, who was the commissioner when Sharp took on the job, said the former prime minister’s role “hasn’t really been discussed enough” because it was outside the remit of Adam Heppinstall KC’s inquiry.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “He himself was conflicted … Should he have recused himself from the appointment given he knew about Richard Sharp helping him out on this loan?

“Should someone in the Cabinet Office have told their colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about what was happening with the private finances?”

Richard Sharp: what happens next?

The BBC chair, Richard Sharp, has resigned after being found to have breached public appointment rules for failing to declare a connection to a secret £800,000 loan for the UK’s former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Sharp intends to step down in June.

The government will be able to select a new BBC chair on a four-year term, depriving a potential Labour government of making its own appointment until mid-2027.

Who could replace Sharp as chair of the BBC?

The government can rapidly appoint one of the BBC’s other non-executive directors as acting chair.

They include the broadcaster Muriel Gray, financier Damon Buffini, or Robbie Gibb, a board member who was previously Theresa May’s communications chief and has pushed a pro-Conservative agenda within the BBC.

The corporation’s board has no powers to block or oust a BBC chair. Only in extreme circumstances can the BBC chair be forcibly removed if ministers conclude they are “unable, unfit or unwilling” to continue.

Ron DeSantis meets James Cleverly

Ron DeSantis has been hosted in the UK by foreign secretary James Cleverly as the Florida governor seeks to burnish his credentials ahead of a possible run against Donald Trump to be the Republican choice in the race for the White House.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak, who was attending Tory conferences in Scotland and Wales, will not be meeting DeSantis, who has been criticised by the LGBTQ community over the “don’t say gay” law banning discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools, which Joe Biden’s administration has called “hateful”.

Like Trump, the Florida governor has not announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination but is widely expected to do so.

His visit presents a diplomatic challenge to ministers, who will want to be accommodating but not risk provoking the ire of Trump by being seen as taking sides in the contest.

Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis (centre) leaves the foreign office after visiting Britain’s foreign secretary James Cleverly in London. Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

DeSantis, who was wrapping up his trade mission in the UK after stops in Japan, South Korea and Israel, also met with business secretary Kemi Badenoch.

The foreign office said Cleverly and the governor discussed “the close and important partnership between the UK and Florida”.

“This meeting was an opportunity to strengthen ties with the fourth-largest US state, and support bilateral economic cooperation that is already worth more than £5bn a year,” a statement added.

Updated at 09.08 EDT

Labour is calling for British residents who want to leave Sudan to be made eligible for evacuation, amid reports that more than 20 NHS doctors have been turned away.

A fragile ceasefire has been extended for three more days and the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, is urging his opposite number at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), James Cleverly, to use the time to help people such as Dr Abdulrahman Babiker, who works at the Manchester Royal Infirmary.

It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan. At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.

We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced by Britain’s brave armed forces and FCDO officials who are working around the clock, but the three-day extension to the ceasefire offers an opportunity to get more people to safety while the airlift is ongoing and there is capacity.

All British nationals, close, dependent relatives of British nationals who are stuck, and British residents seeking to flee Sudan should qualify to board evacuation flights. The government must act before the ceasefire ends and it is too late.

Updated at 08.42 EDT

Atom bomb testing veterans are being urged to come forward and share their stories as part of a project to chronicle their experiences and ensure their efforts are not forgotten.

There are thought to be 1,500 surviving nuclear test veterans from a cohort of ex-service personnel and civilians who contributed to Britain’s nuclear testing programme, including those serving in Australia and the South Pacific, between 1952 and 1967.

Academics want to hear from a range of veterans, including those who have never spoken about their experiences before, and they hope to record around 40 life stories.

The project, to be led by the University of South Wales and the University of Liverpool in partnership with the oral history fieldwork charity National Life Stories and the British Library, aims to capture the events on the days of the tests as well as reflecting on the long-term impact that the programme had on participants and their families.

The project also aims to create educational resources that can be used in schools to encourage the teaching of nuclear history to the next generation.

The universities and National Life Stories were awarded £250,000 in government funding in the spring budget for the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. The veterans minister Johnny Mercer said:

Our nuclear test veterans played a vital role in the creation of the British nuclear deterrent, which continues to keep us safe to this day.

Now, we’re making sure their stories are never forgotten, and can be passed down from generation to generation, so that we can remember the sacrifices they made to protect us.

Mary Stewart, from the British Library, said:

I am delighted that this important partnership will add 40 in-depth life story interviews to the British Library oral history collection, providing researchers now and in the future unparalleled insights into how veterans’ test experiences affected them throughout their lives.

Last month, atom bomb testing veterans and civilian staff were urged to apply for a commemorative medal recognising their “invaluable contribution”, to be presented from late summer.

Updated at 08.30 EDT

Downing Street was forced to relent on its plans to host an invitation-only press briefing with Rishi Sunak in Glasgow after Scottish political journalists gatecrashed the briefing room en masse on Friday morning.

The prime minister’s attempts to focus on the Tories’ record in government instead became a furore over No 10’s attempts to control the media. In his opening speech an hour earlier, the Scottish Tory chair, Craig Hoy, had attacked the Scottish National party for its repeated transparency failures.

Despite complaints from the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Association – complaints vocally supported by reporters from the six hand-picked titles – No 10 had originally insisted no other newspaper would be allowed into the briefing.

In chaotic scenes, 24 newspaper reporters – who were all accredited to attend the Scottish Conservatives’ annual conference – pushed past Tory officials and went into the briefing room.

They were then joined by reporters and camera crews from Sky News, STV and BBC Scotland, who asked to be allowed to ask Sunak a single question on his reaction to Richard Sharp’s decision to quit as BBC chair.

Downing Street officials refused to allow TV crews to do so, insisting instead they agree to a brief interview with Sunak outside the briefing room. After a heated debate about that proposal and a lengthy delay, No 10 threatened to abandon the entire briefing, claiming Sunak had too little time.

When the briefing took place almost an hour late, Sunak was pressed about the chaotic handling of the briefing by a Scottish Sun reporter. He denied the press had been blocked from attending it:

That’s absolutely not my understanding of what’s happened. Just yesterday, I filmed quite an extensive interview with BBC Scotland … I’ve just done another pool clip and I’m speaking to half a dozen of you, which was always the plan.

The SPJA said:

Journalists expect to be able to hold the prime minister to account when he is in Scotland as a vital part of the democratic process. Today’s actions to restrict access are unprecedented and undermine that important principle.

Updated at 08.32 EDT

Gary Lineker has commented on Sharp’s resignation:

Lineker was taken off air by the broadcaster in March after posting a tweet criticising the government’s asylum policy, which then prompted criticism from some on the right and led the BBC to launch an independent review of its social media guidance for freelancers.

Updated at 08.33 EDT

Sunak offers no guarantees of a ‘non-political figure’ to replace Sharp

Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out the appointment of a political figure to replace Sharp at the BBC, PA reports. The agency says the prime minister was unable to offer such a guarantee when speaking to media at the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow, adding:

There’s an appointments process that happens for those appointments. I’m not going to prejudge that.

Rishi Sunak’s charm offensive in Glasgow isn’t without complication. This from our Scotland editor:

Updated at 06.29 EDT

Another passage from the report makes clear Boris Johnson’s role in Sharp’s appointment:

The application deadline was 11 November 2020. On 16 November 2020, the “longlist” of candidates was provided to the secretary of state and No 10. The secretary of state authorised the process to move to the “sift-stage”. No 10 also did so and noted its support for Mr Sharp’s candidacy on 19 November.

The report adds:

No 10 commented to DCMS, on 26 November 2020, that Mr Sharp looked like a strong candidate.

And it says:

Mr Sharp was interviewed at 11.15am on 11 December 2020. He was the final candidate interviewed. The panel chair said, when interviewed for this inquiry, that No 10’s support for Richard Sharp was made known to the panel as required by the governance code and that he was the only candidate identified to the panel as having his candidacy supported by ministers.

Updated at 06.35 EDT

The National Union of Journalists has welcomed Sharp’s resignation. Its general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, has said:

Richard Sharp has shamefully clung to his position as chair for months, whilst all around him could clearly see his time was up. So, of course, it is a relief and proper that he has now finally resigned.

He had lost the dressing room, he had lost the respect of senior figures in the broadcasting industry and besmirched the reputation of the BBC. Now, the BBC must move on with a new chair who can help steer the corporation through difficult times and champion public service broadcasting.

Updated at 06.36 EDT

And here’s the culture secretary Lucy Frazer’s response:

Thank you for your letter notifying me of your decision to resign from your position as chair of the British Broadcasting Corporation. I understand and respect your decision to stand down.

As you have stated, the BBC is a great national institution. Over the past 100 years, it has touched the lives of almost everyone in the United Kingdom and plays a unique part in our cultural heritage. It is respected globally, reaching hundreds of millions of people across the world every week. No other country in the world has anything quite like it.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the work you have done and the leadership you have provided as chair of the BBC. You have been a champion for what a strong BBC can achieve, not only for audiences at home, but also for the BBC’s contribution to the economy and to the UK’s global soft power. I would like to express my gratitude for your work with the government to maintain the BBC World Service in its unrivalled status as the world’s largest international broadcaster, and supporting its crucial role in tackling harmful disinformation through providing trusted news and analysis globally.

I know that you are held in high regard by the BBC board. You have clearly demonstrated your commitment to public service, and I especially applaud the work you did during the pandemic. Your decision to step down in the wider interests of the corporation is further testament to that commitment.

Certainty and stability for the corporation are clearly a shared priority. In this context, I have spoken to the board and they have proposed that you stay in place until the next Board meeting on 27 June 2023, whilst an acting chair is appointed in line with the charter. I have accepted this and would like to thank you for your continued service to assist in ensuring an orderly and smooth transition takes place. We will also move to launch a process to identify and appoint a permanent new chair.

Thank you, once again, for your service and I wish you well for the future. I am sure there will be further opportunities for you to make a significant contribution to public life.