Former Goldman Sachs banker named next BBC chairman

Richard Sharp is Tory donor and was chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss at investment giant

Sharp has donated more than £400,000 to the Conservative Party (Bank of England/PA Wire)

Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp will become the next BBC chairman, it has been announced.

Mr Sharp – who was once chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss at the financial giant – will take over as the corporation faces scrutiny over equal pay, political coverage and the future of free TV licences.

The ex-financier has spent much of the past year acting as an unpaid adviser to Mr Sunak, according to the BBC. He is expected to start his new role next month after relinquishing his duties with the Treasury.

Mr Sharp has donated more than £400,000 to the Conservative Party since 2001, Electoral Commission records show.

The Queen officially appoints each new chairman of the public broadcaster – but only on the recommendation of the government.

Names previously linked with the post include former chancellor George Osborne and Charles Moore, ex-editor of The Daily Telegraph, who reportedly ruled himself out.

Mr Sharp now faces a battle to hold onto viewers from streaming services such as Netflix, as well as overseeing the Beeb’s output during the Covid crisis. The new chair will succeed David Clementi, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, who is stepping down in February after four years at the helm.

Mr Clementi recruited the BBC’s new director general Tim Davie, who started in the role in September. The new chairman will work closely with Mr Davie, who is the former chief executive of the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Studios.

He took over from Lord Tony Hall in September and said the corporation needs to keep reforming “with urgency” and stressed it must be “a universal public service”.

Mr Davie outlined a renewed focus on impartiality following accusations of bias on social media. “If you want to be an opinionated columnist or a partisan campaigner on social media … you should not be working at the BBC,” he told staff.

Although the government recently dropped plans to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee, reports suggest that No 10 is stilling considering whether to scrap the licence fee and bring in a subscription-style model when the BBC charter is next up for renewal in 2027.