'The Sharp Foundation’s recipient, the IPR, has given money to the News-Watch site, which produces content almost exclusively critical of the BBC'.

The BBC chairman’s personal charity is in discussions with the charity regulator, after it emerged that it has donated tens of thousands of pounds to a think tank funding right-wing organisations and causes.

Byline Times reports that Richard Sharp’s charity, the Sharp Foundation, has made donations to the Institute for Policy Research (IPR), which has funded organisations that call for the privatisation of the BBC and tax cuts.

Sharp’s links to the Conservative Party have been well reported, including the fact that he has donated more than £400,000 to the Tories over the years and has also facilitated an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson.

Byline Times reports: “The Sharp Foundation’s recipient, the IPR, has given money to the News-Watch site, which produces content almost exclusively critical of the BBC, as well as to the Centre for Policy Studies and the TaxPayers’ Alliance – the latter of which campaigns for tax cuts and rails against “wasteful” government spending.”

The News-Watch site has been a vocal critic of the BBC, accusing it of bias against Brexit and the Conservatives, while the TaxPayers’ Alliance has run social media posts including: “Do you agree that the BBC licence fee should be abolished?”

The charity regulator, the Charity Commission, has told the paper that it is ‘engaging’ with the Sharp Foundation to assess whether any rules have been broken. As it currently stands, there is no formal inquiry taking place into the Foundation or the Institute for Policy Research.

Charities must remain independent of party politics and must not support a political party or candidate, or create a perception of support as a result of their actions or participation.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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