katie razzall.ays after newspaper story allege he'd helped facilitate a loan to the then prime minister, borisjohnson, just weeks before mrjohnson appointed him chairman of the bbc. he denies being involved in any loan. she asked mr sharp about the allegations of a conflict of interest around the time he was appointed to the post. during the process, candidates were asked if there could be anything that might embarrass the government or the organisation if it came to light. i mean, this is embarrassing to the bbc and potentially the government isn't 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. well, let's talk now to katie razzall, recently appointed media editor for bbc news in addition to her role as cultural editor. katie, how did that interview come about? well, from the moment i actually read about the sunday times story on my app on saturday times app night and thought

katie razzall, bbc news.this weekend — marked by communities all over the world. china's celebrations will include a rabbit—themed musical gala on television. rehearsals are under way. in china, it's the year of the rabbit — and it's considered the luckiest of the 12 zodiac animals, representing peace and longevity. there is a huge range of themed goods being sold. the festival begins on sunday and many will begins on sunday and many will be travelling to spend time with their families. you are watching bbc news. thank you forjoining us. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @monikaplaha. hello there. quite a change of fortunes with our weather this week. it's been cold and frosty, has even been some snow showers around as well. we're going to close out the working week on a similar story — a frosty start, maybe some freezing fog around but for many of us, it's going to be sunny and cold. temperatures to greet us first thing below freezing in towns and city centres, so colder still in more rural spots, particularl

katie razzall, bbc news.ed in the longest match of his career as he made an incredible late—night fightback to secure victory in his second round match against thanasi kokkinakis. the match ended just after 4am local time with murray winning the deciding set 7—5 to complete a remarkable comeback from two sets down. 0nly lleyton hewitt�*s 2008 victory over marcos baghdatis in melbourne has had a laterfinish. quite remarkable that, indeed. and before we go — preparations have begun for the lunar new year this weekend, marked by communities all over the world. china's celebrations will include a rabbit—themed musical gala on television — rehearsals are under way. in china, it's the year of the rabbit, considered the luckiest of the 12 zodiac animals, representing peace and longevity. there are already a huge array of rabbit—themed baked goods and toys being sold in shops. in other countries like vietnam, it'll be the year of the cat. the festival begins on sunday, and many will be travelling to spend time with t

katie razzall, bbc news.unts on their bills has gone live for the first time today. national grid's �*demand flexibility service' has been implemented because of the cold weather and is meant to ensure that our demand for electricity doesn't exceed supply. 0ur cost of living correspondent colletta smith has the story. cara's getting the washing done early today — and hoping to get a bit of cash in the process. she works for the nhs, and normally five o'clock is the moment she gets home and the energy dial starts to whizz up. we have our tea, and then the dishwasher would go on, and then sometimes i might put the washer on when i come in, and then the dryer on through till when i go to bed. she'll get paid a few pounds by british gas for using less than normal between five and six tonight. i won't be using the oven, i won't be using the washing machine or the dryer or the dishwasher and not the telly. 0k, they're the big electricity guzzlers. and my son won't be at home to have the xbox on either! tara's famil

our culture editor katie razzall looks at this year's contenders.irst world war story's haul of nominations include best film and best director. yells. it's a war or anti—war film without heroes. it's really just about young boys who are blinded by political propaganda and go into war thinking of it as an adventure. now, i'm sitting here next to you and if you go back inside, i'm following you inside and if you're going home, i'm following you there too. the banshees 0f inisherin — the tale of two feuding friends in 1920s ireland — has ten nominations, with colin farrell and brendan gleeson among the film's acting nominees. ijust don't like you no more. mrs wang, are you with us? i am paying attention. the sleeper hit everything everywhere all at 0nce also has ten, taking travel through different universes to another level, with michelle yeoh on the best actress shortlist. get a haircut, buttercup! and elvis with nine nods, including best actor, could make history if its cinematographer becomes the first woman ever to win that category. well... it's

there was a transparent and rigorous selection process for the chairman'sjob. 0ur media editor, katie razzallie, just fill us in on the details? ., ., ~' katie, just fill us in on the details?— katie, just fill us in on the details? look, he is under significant _ details? look, he is under significant pressure, - details? look, he is under significant pressure, after| details? look, he is under- significant pressure, after the reports over the weekend in the sunday times which essentially were suggesting that he withheld information that could have been a conflict of interest when it came to him being appointed as bbc chairman. so, the sunday times was reporting that he helped to arrange this loan guarantee for the ventral minister borisjohnson, and that weeks later, the government, through boris johnson, made him their preferred candidate to be bbc chairman. so, today, he wrote to bbc staff, he talked about the story being a distraction and he said he wanted to make clear there was no conflict of interest because he, but he did was to connect a businessman who was planning to act, or wantin

katie razzall, bbc news.oins let's talk to our political editor, chris mason, who joins us now from westminster. terri investigations presenting headaches for the prime minister. . �* . presenting headaches for the prime minister. . �* , , , minister. that's right, this is the crunchina minister. that's right, this is the crunching reality _ minister. that's right, this is the crunching reality of— minister. that's right, this is the crunching reality of government | minister. that's right, this is the l crunching reality of government is playing out more starkly than it has so far since rishi sunak became prime minister, so at first there is the whole business of richard sharp, his old boss when the two of them worked in banking, now the bbc chairman, and questions around the finances of borisjohnson. and then the questions around the finances of the questions around the finances of the party chairman, the conservative party chairman. now, rishi sunak has decided, as far as nadhim zahawi is concerned, that t

katie razzall, bbc news.laces restrictions on almost any mention of lgbt people or culture. russian officials have said the war in ukraine is a battle against western culture, and especially against lgbt values, which president putin described as "�*pure satanism.�* will vernon reports from moscow. when he leaves the house, dania can't wear make—up. but even then, he still feels afraid. translation: it's very frightening | living somewhere where it's illegalj to just be yourself. i don't want to live in fear. the 22—year—old does something that can be very dangerous in russia — he is an openly gay drag queen. but now dania plans to leave the country and move to france. a new anti—lgbt law has been passed by the russian parliament. the main drag night dania performs at has cancelled its shows. translation: according to the law, it's forbidden to do what we do now. | i have to either leave the country or stay here and wait for things to get even worse. ten years ago, so—called gay propaganda was made illegal in

he's been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall.binet secretary about avoiding conflict on the perception of conflict, ifelt conflict on the perception of conflict, i felt comfortable and still feel there was no conflict, because at that stage, what i was seeking to do, was ensure 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 was going to provide to the prime minister. d0 provide to the prime minister. do ou provide to the prime minister. do you think you misled the select committee and advisory panel? ida. you think you misled the select committee and advisory panel? ha. i committee and advisory panel? no, i don't. wh committee and advisory panel? no, i don't- why not? _ committee and advisory panel? no, i don't. why not? because _ committee and advisory panel? no, i don't. why not? because i— committee and advisory panel? no, i don't. why not? because i had - don't. why not? because i had clarified and _ don't. why not? because i had clarified and ag

katie razzall, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. rain, rain, more rain. sorry, everybody. how we closed out the day in somerset. and look at where the rain is at the moment. it's pushing in from the south—west. the wind is going to strengthen as well, gale force gusts overnight. the heaviest of the rain at the moment is across parts of south wales. that is where it will tend to linger as well across the moors of south—west eglin. there could be potential for localised flooding as well. through the early hours of thursday morning, gale force gusts of wind driving that rain steadily eastwards as well. it will still be there first thing in the morning. by contrast, look at the clearer skies in eastern scotland. temperatures here low enough for a touch of frost in sheltered rural parts. early sunshine for you. rain first thing in the morning, down to the south. that drifts away. another area of low pressure pushes into the far north—west. that's going to bring some wet and windy weather into scotland and northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. the wind is a feature as we

our culture and media editor katie razzall told us more about what he said and the repercussions.use he said he wanted to see her paraded naked through the streets, and that he wanted excrement thrown at her. more than 25,000 people complained to the press regulator, it's investigating. so today, we had a much more fulsome apology — six pages on instagram, in which he reveals that on christmas day, he reached out to the duke and duchess to say sorry. far from accepting the apology, i mean, in interviews since, prince harry has suggested the column had proved the couple's point about press bigotry. mr clarkson today writes he abhors violence against women, he's not sexist. he also says that amazon and itv were incandescent about what he wrote. of course, he's a popular tv presenter and there is a report in variety today that amazon, the streamer, plans to part company with mr clarkson next year once the shows — clarkson�*s farm, the grand tour that it's already a commission from him — have aired. now my sources do dispute the variety story, but amazon said it won't comment. the duk

katie razzall, bbc news.r chief political correspondent nick eardley. (tx float) morning to you. calls from outside of the conservative party, and indeed within the conservative party, for a nadhim zahawi to publish more details of his communications with hmrc. might that happen? communications with hmrc. might that ha en? . ~ communications with hmrc. might that hauen? . ~ ,.,,.,_ happen? yeah, i think it probably will have to _ happen? yeah, i think it probably will have to do _ happen? yeah, i think it probably will have to do if _ happen? yeah, i think it probably will have to do if nadhim - happen? yeah, i think it probably will have to do if nadhim zahawi. happen? yeah, i think it probably| will have to do if nadhim zahawi is going to keep hisjob. there has been this drip, drip, drip of information about his tax affairs, about what was paid when over the last few days. what we can say for sure this morning is that mr zahawi paid a tax bill when he was chancellor. that at that tax bill included a penalty

katie razzall, bbc news.s and media correspondent david silito explained the key allegations laid against richard sharp. there's two sides to this. the first one is, how did richard sharp get the job in the first place? and if, based on the sunday times story, it looked as though there was some involvement with an £800,000 loan to borisjohnson to help him out of a sticky situation with his personalfinances — that was the central allegation — did he get thejob because he essentially had helped the prime minister out? what richard sharp is saying today and he was saying in his email yesterday, was that he did have a communication with an old friend, sam blyth, who wanted to help out the prime minister because he had seen in the press that there were some problems with his finances. that was only a matter of passing on some information to simon case, the cabinet secretary, and then it was no more after that because of course at that time, he was applying for the job of the bbc and he says there is no conflict of

our media editor katie razzall has the details.c. the bbc itself has to be more competitive. he was appointed by then prime minister borisjohnson and the culture secretary. it is that relationship between borisjohnson and richard sharp which is now under scrutiny. the former goldman sachs banker is reported to have helped arrange an £800,000 loan to mrjohnson late in 2020. that loan was reportedly guaranteed by the millionaire businessman sam blind. mr sharp discussed this _ businessman sam blind. mr sharp discussed this with _ businessman sam blind. mr sharp discussed this with the _ businessman sam blind. mr sharp discussed this with the head - businessman sam blind. mr sharp discussed this with the head of. discussed this with the head of the civil service. this man simon case who was appointed by borisjohnson and introduced him to sam blyth. weeks later mrjohnson recommended mr sharp as his preferred candidate for the 160,00 pounds a year role as bbc chairman. candidates must declare any conflict of interest. mr sharp says ther

our culture and media editor katie razzall told us more about what he said, and the repercussions.er, there was outrage because he said he wanted to see her paraded naked through the streets and that he wanted excrement thrown at her. more than 25,000 people complained to the press regulator — it is investigating. so today, we had a much more fulsome apology. six pages on instagram in which he reveals that on christmas day he reached out to the duke and duchess to say sorry. far from accepting the apology and in interviews since, prince harry has suggested the column proved the couple's point about press bigotry. mr clarkson today writes, he abhors violence against women, he is not sexist. he also says that amazon and itv were incandescent about what he wrote. of course, he is a popular tv presenter and there is a report in variety today that amazon, the streamer, plans to part company with mr clarkson next year, once the shows, clarkson�*s farm the grand tour, that it has already commissioned from him, have aired. my sources do dispute the variety story, but amazon have said it wi

our culture and media editor katie razzall has the story.hich have been in the british museum for more than two centuries. for months now, there have been reports that the museum chair, george osborne, is close to making a deal with the greek government. the culture secretary, though, says the marbles belong in the uk. i think it opens a complete can of worms. it would be a slippery slope. in an interview for the media show, michelle donelan said she won't allow a permanent return. i think sending them back is a dangerous road to go down. but also one that is prohibited in law. we're not about to change the law to facilitate that. it's important that we stand up and protect our culture. has george osborne, former chancellor, now chairman of the british museum, has he approached you about this? i've had several conversations with george osborne. i think it view on this has been misinterpreted, and certainly portrayed wrongly. in what way? well, he is not about to send them back, basically. that's not his intention. he has no desire to do that

minister, borisjohnson, secure a loan of up to £800,000 beforejoining the bbc. 0ur media editor katie razzallr sharp, and she's here now. katie. thanks, clive. first, a reminder of the background. richard sharp has been chairman of the bbc since february 2021, in charge of upholding its independence. he had a ao—year career as a banker. he was a major donor to the conservatives, and worked alongside rishi sunak both at goldman sachs and when he was chancellor. mr sharp is also a close friend of the former prime minister boris johnson. he calls him al, as some of his friends do. it's that relationship that's now in the spotlight over reports about a loan guarantee reportedly offered to mrjohnson by another old friend, businessman sam blyth who, mr sharp says, read about mrjohnson�*s financial problems in the news and wanted to help. so in late 2020, mr sharp connected sam blyth with the head of the civil service, simon case, for advice on the rules. mr sharp says he agreed not to be involved any further to prevent a conflict of interest. he'd already applied for the job of bbc chairman, and a

our culture editor, katie razzall, looks at this year's contenders.tions, all quiet on the western front. visceral and very human. this first world war story's from the nominations include best film and best director. it is from the nominations include best film and best director.— film and best director. it is a war or anti war _ film and best director. it is a war or anti war film _ film and best director. it is a war or anti war film without - film and best director. it is a war or anti war film without heroes. l or anti war film without heroes. it's reallyjust about or anti war film without heroes. it's really just about young or anti war film without heroes. it's reallyjust about young boys who are blinded by political propaganda and go to war thinking of it as an adventure.— it as an adventure. sitting here next to you _ it as an adventure. sitting here next to you and _ it as an adventure. sitting here next to you and if _ it as an adventure. sitting here next to you and if you - it as an adventure. sitting here next to you and if you go - it a

our culture editor, katie razzall told us more. through the streets and that he wanted excrement thrown at her. more than 25,000 people complained to the press regulator — it is investigating. so today, we had a much more fulsome apology. six pages on instagram, in which he reveals that, on christmas day he reached out to the duke and duchess to say sorry. far from accepting the apology, and in interviews since, prince harry has suggested the column proved the couple's point about press bigotry. mr clarkson today writes, he abhors violence against women, he is not sexist. he also says that amazon and itv were incandescent about what he wrote. of course, he is a popular tv presenter and there is a report in variety today that amazon, the streamer, plans to part company with mr clarkson next year, once the shows, clarkson's farm the grand tour, that it has already commissioned from him, have aired. my sources do dispute the variety story, but amazon have said it will not comment. manori ravindran is executive editor international and

our media editor katie razzall has the details.ard sharp has been the public face of the bbc. the bbc itself has to be more competitive. he was appointed by then prime minister borisjohnson and the culture secretary. it is that relationship between borisjohnson and richard sharp which is now under scrutiny. the former goldman sachs banker is reported to have helped arrange an £800,000 loan to mrjohnson late in 2020. this man simon case who was appointed by borisjohnson and introduced him to sam blyth. weeks later mrjohnson recommended mr sharp as his preferred candidate for the 160,00 pounds a year role as bbc chairman. candidates must declare any conflict of interest. mr sharp says there wasn't one as he has just connected the two men. today a cabinet office spokesperson said mr sharp asked simon case for it all. they agreed he could not take part in discussion involving the then prime minister and this was accepted by mr sharp to avoid any conflict or appearance of conflict of interest. i know he is an incredibly accomplished, su

our media editor katie razzall is here with more details. thanks, huw. since february 2021, in charge of upholding its independence. he had a 40—year career as a banker. he was a major donor to the conservatives, and worked alongside rishi sunak both at goldman sachs and when he was chancellor. mr sharp is also a close friend of the former prime minister borisjohnson — he calls him al, as many of his friends do. it's that relationship that's now in the spotlight. over reports about a loan guarantee reportedly offered to mrjohnson by another old friend, businessman sam blyth who, mr sharp says, read about mrjohnson�*s financial problems in the news and wanted to help. so in late 2020, mr sharp connected sam blyth with the head of the civil service simon case for advice on the rules — mr sharp says he agreed not to be involved any further to prevent a conflict of interest. he'd already applied for the job of bbc chairman, and a few weeks later was announced as the government's choice. he says he did nothing wrong. he says the three friends all had dinner a

i�*m joined now by katie razzall, our culture and media editor. he has put out this statement internally to all bbc staff. it is quite a complicated story and you were trying very fabulously to explain it, but it is complicated but essentially it was this story that broke in the sunday times and the picture around it is a perception issue. was there a problem that somebody who later became chairman of the bbc, was, it was reported, helping facilitate an £800,000 loan to borisjohnson and later decided this man was his preferred candidate for the bbc chairman and a bit after that he was appointed by a panel. richard sharp, he put out this internal statement making clear he was not involved in making clear he was not involved in making a loan or arranging a guarantee. but he is very aware he says that this is what he calls a distraction. you know is that as bbc chairman he has a responsibility to staff and audiences to make sure the bbc is held in high regard and says, i do not want this episode to distract from the important work you are doing. he h

he's been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall.upport there would be. and neither did sam. do you regret, though, not declaring it now? i mean, do you think... no, i don't think there was a conflict. now, william shawcross, the point you raise about cronyism, is is was the appointment itself on merit or was it in any way distorted? and i believe it's on merit and i welcome the examination by william shawcross. as you know, the independent appointment process isn't one that is made exclusively by downing street because, in other situations, preferred candidates weren't seen to be recommendable. so i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, that i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. i mean, we heard yesterday in the public accounts committee that, during the process, candidates were asked if there could be anything that might embarrass the government or the organisation if it came to light. i mean, this is

katie razzall, bbc news. we'rejoined now by our chief political correspondent, nick eardley.r to be dealing with this morning stuck in a good morning to you. absolutely not the starch to the week the prime minister or anyone in government really will have anyone in government really will hav ., �* ~' ., , anyone in government really will hav ., �*~' ., ,, have wanted. awkward stories big auestions have wanted. awkward stories big questions outstanding. _ have wanted. awkward stories big | questions outstanding. particularly that story that has gone on and on over the last few days, the drip, drip, drip of information about nadhim zahawi's tax affairs. as we are reporting this morning, he paid are reporting this morning, he paid a penalty as part of a tax dispute. he paid his bill while he was chancellor, so while he was in charge of the country's finances. my understanding is mr zahawi intends to fully defend his position and stay in hisjob, but it is a really awkward one for the government. add in the awkwardness of the other story we just heard about, the appointment of the

for the moment, katie razzall, thank you very much.an 22-year-old man onl soke mack connor chapman 22-year-old man only spoke to — mack connor chapman 22-year-old man only spoke to confirm _ mack connor chapman 22-year-old man only spoke to confirm his _ mack connor chapman 22-year-old man only spoke to confirm his name - mack connor chapman 22-year-old man only spoke to confirm his name at i only spoke to confirm his name at his age, he is charged with nine charges, the first run being an attempted murder, a second attempted murder as well, and the murder of elle edwards. he is also charged with counts of grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm, which we know is on the charge sheet saying it is a converted submachine scorpion submachine gun, also charged with possession of ammunition and handling stolen goods, namely a mercedes a class car. he appeared on video link from manchester prison wearing a black hankyjacket manchester prison wearing a black hanky jacket and sat with his manchester prison wearing a black hankyjacket and

our culture and media editor, katie razzall, has the story.ple in ancient times in athens. in the early 19th century, lord elgin, a british diplomat and soldier, he removes some of them, many of them, from athens, brought them back to the uk. he ended up selling them to the british government and they put them in the british museum. greece has always contested that he remove them illegally. back then, he did a deal with the ottoman inquirer —— legally. for many years, decades, greece has been demanding that they are given back. they are absolutely beautiful, wonderful pieces of art. when i heard that there might be a deal coming, i thought i must remember to go back to the british museum and look at them again! they are stunning. museum and look at them again! they are stunning-— are stunning. there were reports in the --aer are stunning. there were reports in the paper that _ are stunning. there were reports in the paper that george _ are stunning. there were reports in the paper that george osborne - are stunning. there were reports in the p

earlier, i spoke to our culture and media editor katie razzall for more on this story. report that amazon prime video have decided to, after these two series are over, so it won't be until 2024, they have decided, according to variety, thatjeremy clarkson will no longer appear on amazon, so that is obviously a very big story, if it is true. we have reached out to amazon and we don't yet know whether it is. ironically, exactly a month ago today, this column appeared in the sun newspaper, in which he said, as you said, you know, he talked about his hatred of meghan markle, he talked about wanting to see her paraded through the streets and having excrement thrown at her, which he said was a reference to game of thrones, although he didn't talk about game of thrones in the column. he also compared her to rose west, the serial killer. it is a column that has received the highest number of complaints the press regulator has ever received. i was in contact with them just a few days ago, and it was up to 25,000. they are investigating whether he could and should have published

our media editor, katie razzall, has been speaking to him.the digital culture and sport, but that chairman is under pressure after a report of the weekend suggested during the recruitment process he helped introduce a business friend who wanted a helper then prime minister borisjohnson with a loan to a senior contacting government, the cabinet secretary. today it is first interview, richard sharp told me he did nothing wrong and there was no conflict of interest to declare. having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict, i felt comfortable, and i still feel there was no conflict, because at that stage, what i was seeking to do was ensure the process was followed by the book and that the process hadn't started up any kind in terms of any support some was going to provide. d0 kind in terms of any support some was going to provide.— kind in terms of any support some was going to provide. do you think you missed — was going to provide. do you think you missed their— was going to provide. do you think you missed their d

katie razzall, thank you. thank you.ng and the other departing presenters. this is what viewer heather dobson had to say: thank you for all your comments this week. if you want to share your opinions about what you see or hear on bbc news on tv, radio, online and social media, e—mail us. or you can find us on twitter. you can call us. and do have a look at previous interviews on our website. that's all from us. we'll be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: a mass shooting at a synagogue injerusalem — seven people are killed in the attack, which comes at the end of a week of rising tensions in the region. police in the american city of memphis release graphic video showing officers beating a black man in the street earlier this month. tyre nichols died three days later. uk airline flybe goes into administration and cancels all flights. it's the second time it's shut down in three years. st

our media editor katie razzall has more.that he helped to arrange this loan guarantee for the then prime minister, borisjohnson, and that weeks later the government, through borisjohnson, made him their preferred candidate to be bbc chairman. so today he wrote to bbc staff. he talked about the story being a distraction and he said he wanted to make clear there was no conflict of interest because he said all he did was connect a businessman who was planning to act, or wanted to act as a loan guarantor to borisjohnson, with the head of the civil service, who could give him advice about what was allowed. mr sharp says in that email to staff, "i was not involved in making a loan or arranging a guarantee and i did not arrange any financing. what i did do was to seek an introduction of sam blythe to the relevant official in government." so he believes that puts him in the clear, particularly as he says he discussed the fact that he was applying for the job as bbc chairman with simon case, the civil servant worried about a conflict