Enter the new BBC chairman

 

A scoop for Sky today. 

As widely mooted, Sir David Clementi is being replaced as BBC Chairman by another man from the City: Conservative Party donor Richard Sharp - a former Goldman Sachs partner (where he was Rishi Sunak's boss) and director of the right-leaning Centre for Policy Studies. 

Apparently he supported Brexit and has been giving unpaid advice to the Chancellor over the economic response to the pandemic. 

The FT says that his appointment suggests that the Johnson government is adopting "a more restrained approach" to the BBC, and that his appointed "was greeted with some relief within the BBC". He's "said little in public about the BBC". 

Friends of Mr Sharp said he was unlikely to push for a radical overhaul of the broadcaster or its commitment to political neutrality, but may seek to steer its output towards core public service responsibilities.

“Richard is the sort of guy who thinks the BBC should do more opera and high culture, since it is public service broadcasting no one else covers. But he won’t want to turn it into a rightwing talking shop,” one ally said.