Why are MPs questioning the BBC chair on Boris Johnson’s finances?

The House of Commons select committee on digital, culture, media and sport has recalled Richard Sharp, chair of the BBC, to appear before them and answer questions about the evidence he gave in January 2021 on his then-prospective appointment.

It’s an unusual move, and the committee is not happy that Sharp had not been completely transparent with them about all the circumstances surrounding his appointment. The question is whether Sharp should have volunteered to MPs during their approval hearing the role he had played in introducing Boris Johnson, then prime minister, to someone who could guarantee an £800,000 “credit line” provided by an unnamed benefactor. The guarantor was Sam Blyth, often described as a “multimillionaire Canadian businessman”, and, according to Sharp, an “old friend” of his. Blyth is also a distant cousin of Johnson’s and friend of Stanley Johnson, Boris’s father. Johnson was of course at this time in charge of nominating a government “preferred candidate” for the BBC job: Sharp. (It’s also been reported that Blyth allowed Johnson use of his villa in the Dominican Republic for some R&R after he left Downing Street.)