Why is the select committee asking Sharp back?
It's an unusual move, and the committee is not happy that Sharp had not been completely transparent with them about all the circumstances surrounding his appointment. The question is whether Sharp should have volunteered to MPs during their approval hearing the role he had played in introducing Boris Johnson, then prime minister, to someone who could guarantee an £800,000 "credit line" provided by an unnamed benefactor. The guarantor was Sam Blyth, often described as a "multimillionaire Canadian businessman", and, according to Sharp, an "old friend" of his. Blyth is also a distant cousin of Johnson's and friend of Stanley Johnson, Boris's father. Johnson was of course at this time in charge of nominating a government "preferred candidate" for the BBC job: Sharp. (It's also been reported that Blyth allowed Johnson use of his villa in the Dominican Republic for some R&R after he left Downing Street.)
What's the issue?
Arguably, the relationship between Johnson, Sharp, Blyth and the unknown provider of the funds to Johnson creates a conflict of interest in the appointment, or a potential or perceived conflict of interest. Or more than one such conflict, if the identity of the person who was lending the money were known (does Sharp know? Does Simon Case, cabinet secretary, know?).
None is ideal, and the official rules require that conflicts of interest be declared in UK public appointments. The standard BBC job application says: "You cannot be considered for a public appointment if you fail to declare any conflict of interest." The Commons committee also asked for such a declaration (as well as from its own MPs). None was forthcoming from Sharp, though the committee did discuss with him his substantial donations to the Conservative Party.
What did Sharp do?
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