BBC star ‘sent abusive messages’ to second young person after contact on dating app
Corporation rocked by new allegations against high-profile presenter – as BBC boss admits mistakes in handling of row
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Your support makes all the difference.A person in their early twenties has said they felt threatened by “expletive-filled” messages from the BBC presenter facing allegations he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos as the scandal surrounding the corporation deepens.
The fresh shock allegations, reported by the BBC, add further pressure on the broadcaster as it reels from the fallout from separate claims made against the unnamed male presenter and first reported by The Sun.
The individual in their early twenties – who has no connection to the person at the centre of The Sun’s story – met the male presenter on a dating app before their conversations moved to other platforms, according to the BBC.
The presenter revealed his identity and asked the young person not to tell anyone. The young person later posted online alluding to having had contact with a BBC presenter and hinting they might name him.
The individual said the presenter then sent a number of “threatening messages”, which the BBC says it has seen and confirmed came from the presenter’s phone number. The corporation said the person felt “threatened” by the messages and “remain scared”. The latest claims come as:
- BBC director general Tim Davie admitted mistakes in the handling of the initial controversy and ordered a review of its “red flag” system
- A BBC timeline revealed only two attempts to contact the family before The Sun story – and the presenter wasn’t told for seven weeks
- Scotland Yard asked the BBC to pause its own investigation while it decides whether to start a criminal probe
- Another police force revealed it received a complaint as far back in April – and is now examining whether to investigate
- A BBC Radio 4 host told Mr Davie: “Everyone in the building knows who it is.”
The second person to have come forward also claimed that the presenter put them under pressure to meet up, but they never did. BBC News said it had contacted the presenter via his lawyer, but had received no response to the latest allegations.
On Tuesday night further reports alleged the BBC presenter broke lockdown rules to meet a person he met on a dating app.
The presenter visited a 23-year-old he met on a dating app at their home whilst lockdown was in full force, The Sun reports.
“The BBC were briefing the nation on the rules - when their star who was part of the institution was quite happy to break them”, the 23-year-old reportedly told the paper, further claiming that the presenter travelled from London to another county to meet them in February 2021.
Meanwhile, a police force outside of London has told the BBC that it was contacted back in April by the parents of the first young person, now aged 20 and at the centre of initial allegations reported in The Sun.
The force said “no criminality was identified” at the time. But it added that it had since met the Metropolitan Police and BBC officials and “as a result of recent developments, further enquiries are ongoing to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence”.
Earlier on Tuesday, BBC director general Tim Davie admitted to mistakes in the handling of allegations that the high-profile presenter paid a teenager for explicit images from the age of 17 – conceding that the corporation had been “damaged” by the controversy.
Mr Davie said he was not satisfied that the BBC only sent a single email and made one phone call to the family of the 20-year-old at the centre of the row before The Sun ran its story on the star paying thousands of pounds for photos over three years.
The director general said he had ordered a review of the “red flag” system for complaints, as he was also grilled on why the presenter had not been contacted for seven weeks after the initial complaint was received on 19 May. Mr Davie insisted the corporation had to verify “very serious” allegations before speaking to the presenter.
The BBC released a timeline of events, saying a family member of the person first complained in person on 18 May, when they went to a BBC building.
The following day the same family member contacted BBC audience services and their claims were referred to the BBC’s corporate investigations team, who concluded the claims did not include an allegation of criminality.
The BBC said two subsequent attempts to contact the complainant via phone and email were unsuccessful and no additional attempts were made after 6 June.
The Sun first contacted the BBC on 6 July about the allegations they were due to publish, which was the first time Mr Davie or any executive directors at the BBC were aware of the case. Only then was the presenter told of the allegations.
The claims made by The Sun contained new allegations, different from the matters considered in May, Mr Davie said. “Those new allegations clearly related to potential criminal activity, criminality – that in a nutshell is the difference”.
Explaining why no contact was made with the complainant for more than a month, Mr Davie said “thousands” of complaints are made and it is “appropriate” there is an initial verification process.
The person at the centre of the controversy has said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed presenter, claiming the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are “rubbish” – although their mother reportedly stands by the claims.
The Sun, responding to the BBC timeline on Tuesday, said: “It seems to us that the family is being attacked by the BBC for not fully understanding their complaints system. It remains to be understood why the allegations weren’t escalated and the presenter was not spoken to at the time.”
Mr Davie also revealed that the Metropolitan Police had asked the BBC to pause its own investigation into the suspended presenter while Scotland Yard decides whether to push on with a criminal investigation.
Mr Davie confirmed that he had not spoken to the presenter directly – but said it had been “appropriate” for a “very senior manager” to have spoken to the BBC star after The Sun approached the corporation with new claims.
Asked at a media briefing if the BBC had asked to see the presenter’s phone or his bank statements before their own inquiries were paused, Mr Davie said it was “not right to comment”. Asked if the BBC knew who is paying for the young person’s lawyer, Mr Davie said it wasn’t a matter for the corporation.
Mr Davie was also grilled by BBC Radio 4’s World At One, where he was told “everyone in the building” knows the identity of the presenter at the centre of the storm.
Host Sarah Montague said: “He’s not been named. Everyone in this building knows who it is. And there’s a lot of people who you also have a duty of care presenters on air, who are having to go on air to say it’s not them … It’s not a sustainable situation, is it?”
Mr Davie said: “It is a very difficult and complex situation, and we are trying to calmly and judiciously navigate our way through quite difficult circumstances.” He added: “It is absolutely not the right thing to be doing to speculate. Some of the malicious stuff online, I would condemn.”
BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine, falsely accused of being the presenter in question, called for the star to name himself. “I’m starting to think the BBC presenter involved in the scandal should now come forward publicly,” Mr Vine tweeted.
He said the new claims would see “yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues”, adding that the BBC was “on its knees” over the latest media storm.
The chairman of Ofcom Michael Grade said the board of the BBC must take “full responsibility” for the furore, as he downplayed the idea of the family being able to make a complaint to the watchdog. “I don’t see us getting involved in this one way or another,” he told the House of Lords communications and digital committee.
No 10 called on anyone with any similar allegations to come forward.
Asked if Mr Sunak would encourage people to come forward to the BBC if they have related complaints, his press secretary said: “I think in general, anyone who has been a victim in the nature of these allegations, of course we would call on those people to come forward to ensure that they are supported and their claims looked into.”