BBC presenter accused of ‘paying teen thousands for explicit pictures’
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that “there is no investigation at this time” regarding allegations that a BBC presenter paid a teenager around £35,000 for sexually explicit images.
“Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met with representatives from the BBC on the morning of July 10. The meeting took place virtually”, a statement from the Met read.
“They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.”
Since the publication of the claims in The Sun last week, the presenter allegedly has made panicked phone calls to the youngster and asked “What have you done?”. It has also been claimed he asked the now 20-year-old to get their mother to “stop the investigation”.
Meanwhile, police are investigating a report of malicious communications made on social media towards a BBC presenter who was falsely accused.
No Met investigation ‘at this time’ into BBC presenter
Detectives are assessing information discussed in a virtual meeting with the BBC over allegations a presenter paid a teenager for sexual images but there is no investigation “at this time”, the Metropolitan Police said.
A Met statement said: “Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met with representatives from the BBC on the morning of Monday, 10 July. The meeting took place virtually.
“They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.
“There is no investigation at this time.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 15:46
Eamonn Holmes says BBC are ‘prolonging the inevitable’
Speaking on GB News, he said: “I’m not sure exactly why the presenter hasn’t been named yet.
“I’m not sure whose purpose that serves because sure as heck, that name will be out in the next couple of days.
“I mean, they’re only just prolonging the inevitable on this.”
He added: “The Sun newspaper has a direct relationship with the family involved so they know everything that is going on.
“And they believe that they have the presenter bang to rights on this one, there’s no getting out of it.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 17:05
BBC at risk of looking ‘ridiculous’, says former Guardian editor
The BBC is at risk of looking “ridiculous” should it not release the name of the suspended presenter soon, the former editor of The Guardian has said.
“This information, when it comes out, will be potentially career-ending, it could be criminal, it could be the end of this person’s freedom,” Alan Rusbridger told Sky News.
“It’s a very big decision as to when to release it, but I think increasingly it will look ridiculous if [the BBC] don’t come out and make some kind of statement soon.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 16:45
Met Police investigating ‘malicious communications’ report
Scotland Yard has just released the following statement, saying it will investigate “malicious communications” regarding online speculation surrounding a suspended BBC presenter.
“On Saturday police received a report of malicious communication in relation to a post on social media.
“An investigation is under way and enquiries are ongoing, there have been no arrests.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 15:41
Lee Anderson calls BBC ‘a safe haven for perverts’
The Tory party’s right-wing deputy chairman Lee Anderson has branded the BBC a “safe haven for prevents”.
Mr Anderson told the Express: “The BBC have given us a whole raft of perverts including Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and Stuart Hall. Why is anyone shocked? … It’s time this tax payer funded safe haven for perverts was made a subscription service.”
Fellow Tory right-winger Philip Davis said: “Tim Davie has a lot of explaining to do – why they did nothing until it surfaced in the papers when a complaint had gone in over a month ago.”
Tory MP Marco Longhi added: “This latest event just shows how, again, the organisation seems to be more concerned about its own reputation management than facts and transparency Tim Davie should be answering these questions.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 14:55
‘Lot more to the case than meets the eye,’ former BBC editor says
A former BBC News editor said he thinks “there is a lot more to the case than meets the eye”.
Sir Craig Oliver, who was director of communications for David Cameron at No 10 Downing Street and was a senior editor at BBC News, said: “I do think that alarm bells should be ringing for all of us.”
He told Today on Radio 4: “We’re on day three of this story, it has been the front page of The Sun for the last three days and they still have not named the presenter.”
Sir Craig says The Sun has likely been advised against taking that step because “the burden of proof, in a lot of ways, has not been met”.
Holly Evans10 July 2023 14:43
Could suspended star be jailed over explicit photos?
A high-profile BBC presenter has been accused of paying a teenager more than £35,000 for explicit pictures.
Once the allegations went public, the now-suspended star said, “what have you done?” in an effort to try and “stop the investigation”, it has been claimed.
It came afterThe Sun reported last week how the star allegedly appeared in his underwear in a video call and began paying the person for explicit content when the complainant was 17.
Oliver Pritchard-Jones has more
Holly Evans10 July 2023 14:16
BBC’s Nicky Campbell reacts to being falsely named in teen explicit pictures scandal
BBC’s Nicky Campbell reacts to being falsely named in teen explicit pictures scandal
Nicky Campbell said he had a “distressing weekend” after he was falsely accused of being the unnamed presenter suspended by the BBC amid claims that a presenter paid a teenager for explicit images. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr Campbell confirmed that he is having further conversations with the police and his lawyers over “malicious communications” and defamation. “It was a distressing weekend, I can’t deny it,” he told listeners. Mr Campbell, 62, was among a number of famous faces forced to clear their name after allegations that a BBC presenter paid £35,000 for explicit photographs.
Holly Evans10 July 2023 14:00
Jeremy Vine addresses presenter scandal in radio show
Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine has now taken to the air for the first time since he was accused of being the unnamed presenter over the weekend.
He wrote on social media on Saturday: “Just to say I’m very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday — whoever the “BBC Presenter” in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain’t me.”
He began his show today by saying: “It goes without saying that, for legal reasons, we won’t name the person, but during the day it may change, you may find that there are developments, but let’s see.”
Mr Vine also addressed social media speculation linking him to the unnamed presenter, after saying he’d been “smacked around on Twitter”.
“By virtue of me talking into this microphone, I can’t believe I’m even having to say this: It can’t be me.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 13:55
A top lawyer who led the prosecution in the Rochdale grooming gang cases, said he was “surprised that this person was not suspended once [the BBC] became aware of the gravity of the allegation”.
Nazir Afzal added: “The police should have been engaged as soon as they worked out whether the complaint was genuine. Where are we now the middle of July? Six, seven weeks on.
“They should have advised the police that this is a matter that they should be investigating, and that should have been done weeks ago.
“There’s no justification for the police not having become involved as early as possible.
He also warned against people speculating on social media, stating: “Don’t do it.”
Holly Evans10 July 2023 13:35