Nadhim Zahawi under fresh pressure to quit as senior Tory says he should ‘stand aside’ – UK politics live

Latest updates: Caroline Nokes says Zahawi is ‘leading too many’ front pages while minister Chris Philp declines to defend Tory party chair

In his BBC interview, Richard Sharp, the corporation’s chairman, rejected suggestions that he misled the advisory committee that recommended his appointment, or the Commons select committee that considered it.

Speaking about his involvement with Sam Blyth, the businessman who offered Boris Johnson a £800,000 loan guarantee, Sharp said:

I had clarified and agreed with the cabinet secretary, both of us had the judgment that I’d avoided a conflict or a perception of conflict.

They attack our impartiality and I think the governance we have put in place is extremely strong on impartiality.

Precisely because we should be judged by our output. I think the governance is world class at the BBC and so I feel comfortable that the BBC brand is strong, and that I support it.

Having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict, and the perception of conflict, I felt comfortable and I still feel there was no conflict, because at that stage what I was seeking to do was ensure that the process was followed exactly by the book and that the process hadn’t started, of any kind, in terms of any support that Sam [Blyth] was going to provide to the prime minister.

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