Fair selection

The Tory appointment machine moves forward once again on caterpillar tracks. The Telegraph told us the next BBC chairman would be Richard Sharp on October 22 2020.  On November 21, Robert Peston revealed other potential candidates were being told: "Don't waste your time, the Prime Minister has made up his mind it will be Richard Sharp". 

Investment banker Sharp, 64 (PPE, Christchurch, Oxford) started out with J P Morgan in London and New York, had a long career at Goldman Sachs, followed by time as an independent director of the Bank of England. He's on the board of Oncimmune, developing blood tests which could predict lung cancer. He's a director of private equity firm Roundshield Partners, headquartered in Jersey. Just before the pandemic took off, it closed its European Special Opportunities fund at £670m, surpassing its predecessor which had raised £500m in 2018. It now manages $2.5bn of investments. 

He's involved with two charities: The Sharp Foundation, with daughter Caroline as a trustee, and he's a trustee of Marc Quinn's Human Love, which works to support refugees. Both Human Love and Mr Sharp have worked with International Rescue, where lurketh David Miliband.  Another Human Love trustee is former Carphone Warehouse boss and Brexiteer, David Ross, who helped Boris find a holiday villa on Mustique. 

One presumes someone will ask him to step down from the board of the Centre for Policy Studies....

Richard's twin sister is Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. She determined on a legal career very early in life, putting it down to her naughtier sibling, whom she was constantly defending in their ‘parental court’.