BBC to deliver report into Tim Westwood complaints within two weeks
Director-general Tim Davie said the broadcaster is going through a ‘full deep dive’.
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Your support makes all the difference.The BBC will deliver a report into complaints made about veteran radio host Tim Westwood within the next two weeks, its director-general has confirmed.
Tim Davie said an internal audit is taking place at the broadcaster that will report to the BBC board’s senior independent director, Sir Nicholas Serota.
Hip hop DJ Westwood, who was a BBC radio presenter for almost 20 years, stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra in April following accusations by several women of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour.
With regards to Tim Westwood, we are at the moment going through a full deep dive
He “strongly” denies any wrongdoing.
In July, the BBC revealed it received six complaints against Westwood, including one that was referred to police, despite Mr Davie previously saying he had seen “no evidence of complaints”.
Speaking as the corporation unveiled its annual report for 2021/22, Mr Davie said: “With regards to Tim Westwood, we are at the moment going through a full deep dive.
“What we have done essentially is we did an initial round of analysis of HR files, which didn’t show something, that was why I made that statement which was my understanding at that time.
“But I did make very clear that I wanted to dig deeper and ask people to bring something…
“We take this very seriously. I want to ensure that everyone who has got anything to bring which relates to the BBC or the time spent at the BBC we look at, fully investigate.
“We have (an) internal audit separate to myself working to the senior independent director Nick Serota going through now, responding to anything that is coming into us.”
Mr Davie said he did not want to give a “running commentary” on the investigation.
He added: “It is not because I am lacking in transparency. It is just we want to do that work and then we will come back and I think what we will do is publish something and summarise exactly to the questions.
“’Here are the things we have got in, this is all we have got as the BBC,’ and be fully transparent around that. And we should get that out within the next two weeks.”
He said the BBC had “no objective apart from to ensure that everything is flushed out” and for the broadcaster to gain an understanding of what had happened during Westwood’s time there.
A statement from a representative of Westwood to the PA news agency in April said: “Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
“In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially.
“Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.”
The DJ, who is the son of Bill Westwood, the former Anglican bishop of Peterborough who died in 1999, began his career on local radio before joining Capital Radio in London.
He was later given his own show by BBC Radio 1.
The radio presenter left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years and returned to Capital Xtra to host a regular show on Saturday nights, where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”.
A representative for Westwood has been contacted for comment.
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