HANDOUT / AFP
Boris Johnson, here in kyiv, Ukraine, January 22, 2023.
UNITED KINGDOM – Britain’s Conservative government is currently under pressure after appointing Richard Sharp – when he was finance minister – to head the influential BBC, British public television.
This former banker would have, shortly before his appointment, played the matchmaker to help Boris Johnson to obtain a loan of more than 900,000 euros.
Richard Sharp has since asked the BBC to investigate his own appointment to determine if there was a potential conflict of interest.
In details, according to Sunday Timesthe former banker was involved in setting up a guarantee to obtain a loan for the former British Prime Minister of up to 800,000 pounds (910,000 euros, according to the current rate), at the end of the year 2020. This before Boris Johnson subsequently recommended Richard Sharp for the BBC’s top job.
In a letter to BBC employees, Richard Sharp clarified some points surrounding his involvement in the loan.
Sam Blyth, a Canadian businessman at the center of the case
He confirmed at the time that he introduced a multi-millionaire Canadian businessman, Sam Blyth, to Simon Case, Boris Johnson’s cabinet secretary, “because Sam wanted to support Boris Johnson”, reports sky news this Monday, January 23. “I was not involved in providing a loan or setting up a guarantee, and I did not arrange any financing. What I did was seek to introduce Sam Blyth to the relevant government official”explains Richard Sharp.
“Sam Blyth, whom I have known for over forty years, lives in London and, having realized the financial pressures on the Prime Minister at the time and being a successful entrepreneur, told me he wanted to see if he could help”he adds.
For its part, Downing Street defended itself from everything “cronyism” in this case, while Boris Johnson claimed that Richard Sharp “know absolutely nothing about [ses] personal finance ».
After 13 years in power, the British Conservatives have seen their reputation tarnished in recent years by a series of controversies over conflict of interest cases, fueling accusations of corruption by the Labor opposition, currently largely in the lead. surveys.
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