United Kingdom based news publication, BBC News, has recently suspended one of its male staff members. The unnamed BBC presenter is currently facing allegations of paying 35 000 Pounds approximately (R 845 605), to a teenager, in exchange for sexually explicit pictures.
This whole incident began on Friday, when The Sun news publication released an article alleging that the unnamed BBC presenter paid thousands of Pounds for sexually explicit pictures to a teenager, from when the teenager was 17 years of age. In response to this incident, the BBC announced on Sunday that it has suspended one of its male staff members, however, the publication did not identify the suspended individual.
BBC News further mentioned that it is currently working as fast as it possibly can, “to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.” The publication says that it does not know the teenager and it has never had any direct contact with the teenager.
The Metropolitan Police is said to be assessing the information provided by the BBC regarding the allegations made against the BBC presenter. However, so far there is no investigation taking place. Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met virtually on Monday with BBC representatives.
A statement from Monday’s virtual meeting reads; “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.”
On Sunday, The Sun published another article reporting that the teenager’s parents are upset over the BBC’s response, which alleged that no one from BBC attempted to contact the teenager’s family and arrange a proper interview after the first complaint.
The newspaper further alleged that the unnamed BBC presenter attempted to make “panicked calls” to the teenager. “What have you done?”, he allegedly said to the teenager. He also allegedly asked the teenager to ask their mother to “stop the investigation”.
“For avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish”, said the teenager’s lawyer in a letter to the BBC.
In its defence, The Sun mentioned that it reported a story based on two concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC back in 2020, about the behaviour of a presenter and the wellbeing of their child. However, their complaint was not acted upon.
The newspaper further stated; “We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”.
In recent developments to this matter, BBC director-general Tim Davie is set to face questions regarding the suspended presenter scandal, in a scheduled media briefing session on Tuesday 11 July 2023.
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Written by: Prince Neo Mokwena
Image: The Guardian Nigeria
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