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The government has begun the search for a new BBC chair after appointing headhunters Saxton Bampfylde to oversee the job of replacing former board head Richard Sharp who resigned over a “potential perceived conflict of interest”.
The hunt for the next head of the public broadcaster has assumed greater significance after criticism of the process that selected Sharp, who had received the backing of then prime minister Boris Johnson.
The government chose not to use an executive search agency for Sharp’s appointment, a decision that raised concerns due to intense speculation over the preferred candidates and allegations that the process was neither fair nor open.
An investigation by the commissioner for public appointments carried out by Adam Heppinstall KC into the appointment process found this decision was made despite the use of an executive search agency “being strongly argued for in submissions to ministers”.
The report found that Downing Street had proposed the independent members of the panel that would choose the next chair, and from early on made clear its support for Sharp, the only candidate identified as having his candidacy backed by ministers.
The investigation found that after Sharp’s appointment he failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest to the panel in relation to a suggested introduction to a person who could assist the former prime minister with his personal finances.
A subsequent review by the BBC board’s nominations committee also found Sharp had breached its code of practice by failing to disclose discussions relating to a “possible loan by a third party” to Johnson.
One person with knowledge of the appointment of the headhunters said culture secretary Lucy Frazer was keen to “cast the net as wide as possible” in the search for the new chair. The Department for Culture Media and Sport, and Saxton Bampfylde declined to comment.
The person added that the search for a new head needed to be seen as transparent as possible given the scrutiny of the process. “We want to crack on with this,” they added. “It’s a really important role and we need to get it right.”
The government has already come under pressure to stop choosing candidates based on their political allegiances after the appointment of Sharp, who is also a former Conservative party donor.
The acting chair of the BBC Dame Elan Closs Stephens said last week that the government needed to conduct a thorough and transparent search for its new permanent chair.
She said that ministers should use external headhunters, and make the search as wide as possible to ensure as “diverse a field as possible and that there should be some really very strong candidates from all walks of life if we can”.