BBC Chair Richard Sharp has been urged to resign by almost all the plus-1,000 respondents to an National Union of Journalists (NUJ) -organized survey at the corporation as pressure ramps up following the Boris Johnson loan scandal.The survey from the union, which represents hundreds of BBC journalists, found 95% thought Sharp should immediately resign. Even more (97%) said revelations over Sharp’s actions and behavior at the time of his appointment and since have caused damage to the BBC’s reputation and 91% said the scandal served to undermine trust in BBC journalism.NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet said Sharp has “lost the dressing room.” “Journalists working at the BBC no longer have confidence in their chairman,” she added. “Revelations of Sharp’s role as financial matchmaker for Boris Johnson and his decision to keep his actions under wraps have caused anger and frustration amongst NUJ members.”Sharp is currently subject to two separate investigations, one by the BBC Board and one by the UK’s Public Appointments Commissioner, over claims he failed to disclose his facilitation of an £800,000 ($960,000) loan for the former Prime Minister. Sharp connected Johnson with his distant cousin Sam Blyth via Cabinet Secretary Simon Case regarding the loan, before recusing himself, he says.Opposition parties and figures such as former BBC broadcasting heavyweight Jonathan Dimbleby have called on Sharp to quit and a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee recently chided him for undermining public trust in the BBC in a damning report. Sharp has argued he “knew nothing” of Johnson’s finances when he helped facilitate the loan and criticized the press for “significant inaccuracies” around the story.The investigations are both likely to report back shortly.
© 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC.