Family ‘upset’ with BBC response to presenter photo claimson July 10, 2023 at 11:34 am

The family of a teenager allegedly paid by a BBC star for sexually explicit photos is said by the Sun to be upset by the corporation’s latest response.

The BBC said it first became aware of a complaint in May and then of “new allegations” on Thursday.

But the family alleged “no-one from the BBC rang them for a proper interview after the initial complaint”.

The unnamed presenter has now been suspended. The BBC is meeting the police on Monday to discuss the matter.

The corporation said it was working as quickly as possible to establish the facts.

Claims that the presenter began paying the young person over a three-year period, starting when they were 17, were first reported in the Sun on Friday.

Concerns have been raised about the BBC’s complaints process – primarily, what steps were taken to question the presenter and to investigate further.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk called on the BBC to “get their house in order” and investigate the allegations promptly to avoid innocent people’s reputations being damaged.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “prompt action” was “absolutely vital” and a BBC investigation into the claims should be allowed to “play out before we jump to any conclusion”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said it was “right this is looked into carefully and there is transparency at an appropriate time”, and that the PM has “full confidence” in BBC director general Tim Davie.

A number of BBC presenters, including Rylan Clark, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, Jeremy Vine and Jon Kay, have distanced themselves from the allegations on social media in recent days.

On BBC Radio 5 Live, Campbell opened his programme on Monday saying: “Thoughts with the alleged victim and family.”

He added: “It was a distressing weekend, I can’t deny it, for me and others falsely named.

“Today I’m having further conversations with the police in terms of malicious communication and with lawyers in terms of defamation.”

On his Radio 2 show, Jeremy Vine said: “I’m in that shortlist of BBC presenters who ended up being smacked around on Twitter yesterday and the day before. But what can you do? Are you going to tell me to take out 85 different lawsuits?”

Speaking earlier on Channel 5, Vine stressed he was “completely innocent of any of this”, describing social media as “just basically a massive fountain of sewage, and someone needs to put a cap on it”.

In a statement on Sunday announcing a staff member had been suspended, the BBC said it was working as fast as possible “to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”.

“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May,” it said. “New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.”

It added that the corporation expected to be in a position to provide a further update on the process in the coming days.

In a new story published by the Sun on Sunday evening, the paper said the family were upset with the wording of the BBC’s Sunday statement.

It also claimed the BBC presenter made what it calls two “panicked calls” to the young person – who is now 20 – after the original story came out.

The presenter allegedly asked the young person “what have you done?” and asked them to ring their mother to get her to “stop the investigation”, the paper said.

BBC News has not been able to independently verify these claims.

BBC media editor Katie Razzall said the corporation’s first statement appeared to suggest its initial investigation may have been hampered by a lack of response from the family.

In the statement, released on Friday, the BBC said it did “actively” attempt to speak to “those who have contacted” them “to seek further detail and understanding of the situation”.

“If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop,” added the BBC.

“If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”

The family told the Sun they initially became frustrated in May, when the presenter remained on air despite them making the BBC aware of their concerns. They then decided to approach the paper.

The mother of the young person told the Sun her child had used the money from the alleged payments to fund a crack cocaine habit.

On Saturday, she warned that if the alleged payments continued, her child would “wind up dead”, the Sun reported.

The paper said she also claimed that an image of the presenter in his underwear had been taken as part of a video call with her child.

In a statement on Sunday evening, London’s Metropolitan Police said the force had been contacted by the BBC, but “no formal referral or allegation has been made”.

More information is needed before the police can determine what “further action should follow”, said a spokesperson for the Met.

In an email to BBC staff on Sunday, Mr Davie said such allegations were taken “incredibly seriously” and the corporation was working rapidly on ascertaining the facts and “to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care”.

He also condemned “unsubstantiated rumours” being made online about some presenters working at the BBC.

Razzall said Mr Davie, who is expected to appear before the media on Tuesday for the publication of the BBC annual report, was under “great pressure”.

“It is reputationally very difficult. It is coming very soon after previous crises around Gary Lineker and his tweets about the government’s asylum seekers policy, and also the departure of the BBC chairman Richard Sharp,” she said.

“The BBC is a public service broadcaster, it depends on trust, and anything that adds to the suggestion that trust is being eroded is a problem.”

With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on.

And like with any other organisation, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC press office for official statements.

Occasionally BBC journalists approach senior managers for unplanned interviews – known as “doorsteps” in the news business.

They sometimes also get offered interviews with management – like this one with Mr Davie over the Gary Lineker row.

And when this happens, they know they’ll be scrutinised within and outside the BBC over how well they hold their boss to account.

Additional reporting by Rachel Russell.