BBC chairman Richard Sharp braced for report on his appointment

Report by barrister Adam Heppinstall KC to be published on Friday morning, The Independent understands

BBC chairman Richard Sharp is braced for a potentially-damaging report into his appointment to the role after he helped facilitate an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.

The former Tory donor was appointed to the influential role overseeing the public broadcaster’s independence in 2021, but has faced calls to resign after it emerged he helped the then-prime minister arrange the loan.

The report compiled by barrister Adam Heppinstall KC is expected to be published on Friday morning, The Independent understands.

Sources have told The Guardian the report could prove uncomfortable reading for the BBC chairman.

The former Goldman Sachs banker has already been criticised by MPs who rebuked him for “significant errors of judgment” by acting as a go-between for Mr Johnson.

The cross-party committee said that his actions “constitute a breach of the standards expected of individuals” applying for prominent public appointments.

Mr Sharpe has admitted introducing his friend Sam Blyth, a cousin of Mr Johnson who wanted to help him with his financial troubles, to the Cabinet Office in 2020.

In January the following year he was named as the government’s preferred candidate to be BBC chairman.

The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee confirmed his appointment but was not aware of his role in helping to facilitate the loan.

He formally took up the four-year appointment in February 2021.

But allegations of cronyism followed when the Sunday Times revealed the loan agreement.

Commissioner for Public Appointments William Shawcross announced he would review the way competition for the post was run to ensure it was in compliance with Whitehall rules.

But Mr Heppinstall was appointed to carry it out when Mr Shawcross recused himself because he had met the BBC chairman on previous occasions.

The DCMS committee in February said Mr Sharp had committed errors of judgment by failing to declare his role in the loan to the cross-party group of MPs before his appointment.

In the report, the MPs said: “Richard Sharp’s decisions, firstly to become involved in the facilitation of a loan to the then-prime minister while at the same time applying for a job that was in that same person’s gift, and then to fail to disclose this material relationship, were significant errors of judgment, which undermine confidence in the public appointments process and could deter qualified individuals from applying for such posts.”

A spokesman for Mr Sharp said he “regrets” not telling them about his involvement with his old friend Mr Blyth, a Canadian businessman, “and apologises”.

Additional reporting by PA