Boris Johnson and BBC chairman Richard Sharp are under fresh scrutiny, following a report that the then-prime minister was told to stop asking Mr Sharp for financial advice.
Another Susie Dent word of the day seems to nail it, but more of that a bit later…
Sharp’s appointment is under review following claims he helped Mr Johnson secure a loan before getting his job.
Both men have denied the claims.
Memo
According to the Sunday Times, the memo warning to Johnson was sent on 22 December 2020 – about two weeks before the government announced Sharp’s appointment as the new BBC chairman.
Boris Johnson is said to have secured his loan for £800,000 the following month.
With this at the forefront of his mind James O’Brien tweeted: “You’re now being asked to believe that a man Boris Johnson repeatedly consulted for ‘financial advice’ was miraculously & coincidentally contacted out of the blue by an old chum & distant cousin of Johnson who had independently developed a desire to lend Johnson lots of cash.
He then followed up with: “And that very shortly afterwards this man, former banker Richard Sharp, was made chairman of the BBC by Johnson due entirely to his very particular set of skills & in no way whatsoever as a reward for services rendered. It is unfortunate that he has already changed his story.”
Dent
Well. this word could be applied to a number of on-going government scandals.
Dent posted: “Word of the day is ‘malverse’ (17th century): to act corruptly in a position of trust.”
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