09 July 2023 , 20:47
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An unnamed male BBC employee was suspended on Sunday following allegations a presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit images.
However, on Monday, the young person - now aged 20 - denied the allegations presented to The Sun by their mother as a lawyer acting on their behalf told the BBC how the young person rubbished the claims to the newspaper prior to publication.
In response, the mother stood by her original allegations and questioned how her child could afford to hire a lawyer.
The young person's stepfather also spoke to The Sun to accuse the BBC of lying and allege the corporation was contacted on May 19 regarding his wife's concerns about her child and the unnamed male presenter.
It followed reports on Friday from the mother of the unidentified 20-year-old, claiming her child was paid more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures. She claims the alleged victim used the money to fund an addiction to crack cocaine and blames the presenter for "destroying her child's life".
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It is claimed the alleged victim was just 17 years old when the interactions started and is now 20. The mother of the anonymous accuser alleged the unnamed BBC presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with her then teenage child.
Here is a round up of the timeline of the scandal so far, including a male employee's suspension, celeb denials and the police involvement.
When did the news break and what are the allegations?
On Friday 7 July, it was reported a BBC presenter was said to be facing an investigation after allegedly paying a young adult for sexually explicit images.
The mother of the alleged victim claimed to The Sun that her teenager was given £35,000 in return for explicit images from when they were 17. She says the alleged victim used the money to fund a crack cocaine addiction.
"One time he had sent £5,000 in one lump. The money had been in exchange for sexually explicit photographs of my child," the furious mother told publication.
The teen, who is remaining anonymous, allegedly went from a "happy-go-lucky" teen to a "ghost-like" addict in just a number of years. It's believed that the family of the concerned recipient approached the BBC on May 19 and it is alleged that they pleaded with the corporation to beg the man to "stop sending cash".
"I blame this BBC man for destroying my child's life," they added. The messages are said to have started in 2020 and the man behind sending the images refrained from protecting his identity, as well as allegedly sending images of himself at his place of work.
The mother continued: "I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear. I immediately recognised him, he was leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him. My child told me, 'I have shown things' and this was a picture from some kind of video call."
On Friday, a spokesperson for the BBC 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."
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What has the teenager said?
The young person at the centre of the scandal disputed claims made against the unnamed star on Monday.
At the start of BBC News at 6PM on July 10, Fiona Bruce told viewers a lawyer acting on behalf of the 20-year-old denies the allegations presented to The Sun by their mother and told the BBC how the young person rubbished the claims to the newspaper prior to publication on Friday night.
Following the broadcast, Katie Razzall, the BBC's culture and media editor, wrote on the BBC website: "We received this letter late this afternoon and it makes key claims that, if true, potentially throws some doubt on the story that was on the front pages throughout the weekend.
"It's a letter from a lawyer who says he represents the young person at the centre of the allegations and he says the young person sent a denial to the Sun newspaper on Friday evening, before publication, by WhatsApp, to tell them the statement their mother made about them was 'totally wrong and there was no truth in it'.
"Nonetheless the Sun newspaper proceeded to publish what the lawyer and the client called 'their inappropriate article'. The letter from the lawyer also says: 'For the 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'."
In a statement issued to the BBC this afternoon, The Sun responded: "We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.
"Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate."
When was the BBC presenter suspended?
The unnamed presenter was suspended from the BBC on Sunday afternoon. The license-payer-funded corporation said: "The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.
"This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps. It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
"We have been clear that if - at any point - new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.
"The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. 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. We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.
"We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date."
Stars who have denied being the presenter
Gary Lineker addressed rumours he was the presenter (Getty Images)
Jeremy Vine has threatened legal action (Getty Images For The Cambridge Union)The allegations sparked a social media frenzy over the weekend, leaving many presenters coming out to say they are not the man involved.
Rylan Clark, who previously presented Strictly It Takes Two and a BBC Radio 2 show, told his Twitter followers on Saturday morning: "Not sure why my names floating about but re that story in The Sun - that ain’t me babe. I’m currently filming a show in Italy for the BBC, so take my name out ya mouths."
Later the same day, BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine also took to Twitter to shut down any suggestion he is the unidentified person in The Sun's report, tweeting: "Just to say I'm very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday — whoever the 'BBC Presenter' in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain't me."
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker also came out to deny being the unnamed host. Taking to his Twitter account on Saturday evening, the Match of the Day presenter told his followers: "Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me."
Nicky Campbell appeared to have contacted the police after he was accused of being the presenter on social media. Taking to Twitter, Nicky said: "I think it’s important to take a stand. There’s just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends."
He then shared a screenshot from an account who claimed Nicky was the unnamed BBC presenter at the centre of the claims. The radio journalist also posted a pic of a response from the Metropolitan Police, thanking him for reporting a crime.
Rylan was the first presenter to address trolls saying he was the unnamed presenter (Getty Images for Orion Books)
Nicky Campbell said he contacted the police (Getty Images Europe)Jeremy Vine has since come out to say he would sue people who have falsely accused him of being the BBC presenter who has been suspended.
On Twitter, he said: "I do not know who Andy Plumb is, but a defamation lawyer advised me that what he did on Twitter yesterday is the quickest way to lose £20,000. I messaged Andy to that effect," before sharing a screenshot of a tweet to the account reading: "I've passed screenshots of your messages about me to a lawyer. They are seriously defamatory. They are completely and utterly untrue."
Responding to further tweets, Vine said: "This defamatory tweet has been logged and screenshotted and I will follow up with you next week." A second saw him say: "You repeated a defamatory lie. That's libel and I will be in touch in the coming days."
He went on to add: "This tweet is seriously defamatory of me. I have screenshotted it and the retweets and passed it to a lawyer. There is no truth WHATSOEVER in what you are saying." Mr Vine later responded to another social media user saying he would be reporting the tweets to a lawyer on Monday.
The BBC's Director General Tim Davie warned against social media speculation surrounding who the unnamed presenter is on Sunday.
In a note sent to staff and seen by the PA news agency, Tim Davie said: “By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex. I also want to be very clear that I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent.
“We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports. I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate.”
Police confirm contact from BBC
On Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police confirmed the BBC has made contact with them but that there hasn't been any formal allegations.
It was initially reported the BBC initially had been in contact with the police regarding the presenter. The force confirmed: "The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made. We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow."
Why hasn't the suspended presenter been named?
The allegation involves a potential crime with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. It is a crime to take, make, share and possess indecent images of people under 18. That means if the presenter is proved innocent, alleging they had committed such a crime could be libellous.
Secondly, until someone is arrested and then charged, they can have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Although the male presenter has now been suspended by the BBC, neither the BBC or The Sun have confirmed the name.
In a note sent to staff, Tim Davie said: “By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex."
How is the BBC reporting the news?
The way the BBC is reporting on the internal matter prompted former Good Morning Britain anchor Piers Morgan to hit out at the publicly funded broadcaster on Sunday.
"Ridiculous," Piers told his followers as he quote-tweeted another Twitter user saying: "BBC host asks BBC reporter standing outside the BBC about allegations against unnamed BBC star. BBC reporter says they 'haven't been able to confirm' whether the BBC presenter has been suspended by the BBC."
BBC News has since shared an insight into how they navigate and report on stories about BBC employees and internal matters.
"With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on," the BBC writes within their report on the suspension of the unnamed male presenter.
"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."
It adds: "They also sometimes also get offered interviews with management - like this one with BBC Director General Tim 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."