Three high profile stars call lawyer to 'discuss options' amid BBC sex scandal
Three high profile stars have contacted a media lawyer for advice amid frenzied speculation as to the identity of the unnamed presenter linked to a sex scandal at the BBC.
A star at the broadcaster is alleged to have paid a teenager more than £35,000 over three years in exchange for sexually explicit images.
The teen is said to have been 17 when the payments began with their mother claiming the money was used to fund a 'spiralling drug addiction.'
The mother of the alleged cash recipient says she reached out to the BBC on May 19th but was unhappy with how her complaint was dealt with.
After her allegations against the 'well known name' - who is claimed to be on a six-figure salary at the BBC and currently 'off air' - were published by The Sun newspaper this weekend, speculation has been mounting as to the identity of the presenter.
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A number of high profile stars have spoken out to clear their name with one threatening to take legal action against false accusations.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens has revealed that he had calls from three "high profile individuals" seeking advice on how to stop their name being dragged into social media speculation.
Mr Stephens told Times Radio he thought the BBC's handling of the complaint was a "shambles", adding "the BBC have really dropped the ball".
He also said that the name of the person could emerge in the next few days: "I think it will break shortly".
"It's a shambles, isn't it?" he said of the alleged scandal. "Safeguarding complaints are perhaps the top priority that you need to deal with, as either a school or in any part of society, and the BBC have really dropped the ball. And it does seem that they've also caused this to escalate, because it was the frustration with the BBC not acting that led to the family to go to the Sun newspaper. And that I think is reckless, because of course what has happened is we've seen all this conjecture on social media," said Mr Stephens.
He said he'd been contacted directly by people worried about being named: "I was at the cricket at Headingley yesterday, and I had three calls during the day from high profile individuals whose name had appeared on social media. And as a consequence of that, they want to know what their legal options are."
Mr Stephens also gave. warning to people engaging in speculation on social media: "There is this thing that we lawyers called "Twible", that is "Twitter libel", and it applies to all forms of social media. And often we see people doing it, and if what they're doing is doing it repetitively, then you almost certainly will get a court case, at some point in the near future... So if you think back to Cliff Richard, and when people get arrested, we're not allowed to identify under the UK privacy laws the identity of someone who is under investigation, still presumed innocent. And as a consequence of that we're in some very sort of legally hot water here. So anyone would be very, very wise to stay away from conjecture."
Mr Stephens said there is a real possibility that the TV personality in question could get named in the next few days.
"We've seen it in parliament, when allegations have been made about inappropriate behaviour by parliamentarians, you look out for who's not suddenly not turning up at Parliament. And there's jigsaw identification. And I think that over the next few days, social media will probably light up with individuals who are perhaps not filling in their usual spots and doing their usual shifts. And, of course, you know, there are now so many people that actually know who this is, that I think it will break shortly -- unless the presenter goes and gets an injunction to stop people reporting on this at this particular point in time."
He added: "It would be pretty astonishing frankly if the police were not by now involved in this, in case there were criminal offences that needed investigation."
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The Mirror reported that the BBC presenter accused of paying the teen for the images partied with bosses at an awards ceremony after the complaint was made.
A partygoer told the Mirror it was 'astonishing' that someone facing 'serious allegations' was in attendance at the event.
"If this man was aware of what was hanging over him he certainly didn't show it," they claimed.
Further allegations have been published in The Sun on Sunday, including clams that the presenter joined a video call in his underwear with his alleged victim.
The presenter has been reportedly been taken off air pending an investigation.
Addressing the original story, a BBC spokesperson told the Mirror: "We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them. As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this. That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order 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. 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."
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer will be speaking to BBC director-general Tim Davie today over the “deeply concerning” allegations about an unnamed presenter, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has said.
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