A person in their early 20s claims to have been subjected to ‘threatening’ and ‘abusive’ messages after connecting with a BBC presenter on a dating app. Photo / 123rf
A person in their early 20s claims to have been subjected to ‘threatening’ and ‘abusive’ messages after connecting with a BBC presenter on a dating app. Photo / 123rf
The BBC presenter at the centre of a sex scandal is facing a fresh set of allegations, as the Prime Minister urged any other potential complainants to come forward.
The new case involves a second individual in their early 20s, who claimed to have been contacted anonymously by the presenter via a dating app and then subjected to “threatening” and “abusive” messages.
BBC News, which reported the claims, said it had seen the messages and had verified that they were sent from a telephone number belonging to the presenter.
Separately, The Sun reported that the presenter had been accused of breaking lockdown to visit a 23-year-old he had met on a dating app.
The newspaper said it had seen messages suggesting that as well as visiting the person’s home, the presenter had also sent money and asked for a picture.
The fresh claim came as the BBC faced criticism over alleged failings in its handling of the first complaint.
When parents approached the BBC on May 19 alleging an inappropriate relationship between their child and the presenter, the corporation did not raise the matter with the presenter.
Despite identifying the matter as “serious”, the BBC’s corporate investigations team made only two attempts to contact the complainants – one email that drew no response, and a telephone call that did not connect – and did nothing else for seven weeks until the parents went to The Sun newspaper.
The presenter was finally spoken to on July 6, in response to The Sun story, which alleged that the presenter had paid £35,000 in exchange for sexually explicit images.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, said that protocols had been followed but that they were now under review.
He also said that he had not spoken personally to the presenter in question and did not intend to because his role is to “oversee the process”.
Jeremy Vine, one of the stars wrongly linked to the story on social media and subjected to online abuse, said the presenter should make their identity known.
Vine tweeted:
I’m starting to think the BBC Presenter involved in the scandal should now come forward publicly. These new allegations will result in yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues of his. And the BBC, which I’m sure he loves, is on its knees with this. But it…
MPs have accused the BBC of failing in its duty of care by “sitting on their hands” for nearly two months.
Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said: “It is now deeply disturbing and beyond concerning that this institution is so unaccountable that they have been shown to be completely not engaged in proper process on an issue that is just so, so serious.
“They have failed in their duty of care to the young person involved and the BBC should be held to account in a very open, transparent and serious way.
“It is just so extraordinary to think that they’ve sat on their hands for seven weeks and not taken any action. I think this is where the Government must hold the board and the director-general to account and say: ‘What the hell do you think you were doing?’
“It’s just such a terrible, terrible mess for the BBC.”
It came as Kate Silverton, the former BBC newsreader who now works as a child therapist, said the corporation should have prioritised the needs of the alleged victim when the first complaint was made.
Writing in The Telegraph, Silverton, who presented an in-house training video for the BBC on safeguarding, says: “It is not the BBC’s job to investigate potential criminality, just as it wouldn’t be a school’s job to investigate when an allegation is made of this nature.
“The first duty of care should be towards the young person, and staff are made aware of this ... We have a moral as well as legal obligation to act if there are concerns about any person in a position of influence.”
The new claim was not lodged with the corporation itself but was obtained by BBC News, which is independently reporting on the scandal.
It is alleged that the presenter made contact with the second person via a dating app before the conversation moved to other platforms.
At that stage, it is alleged that the presenter revealed his identity and instructed the young person not to tell anyone.
When the young person hinted online that they might name him, they received “abusive, expletive-filled messages” that left them feeling threatened and frightened, it is claimed.
A spokesman for BBC News said: “The new allegations of menacing and bullying behaviour by the presenter raise fresh questions about his conduct.
“BBC News has contacted the presenter directly and via his lawyer but has received no response to the latest allegations.”
The BBC has been at the centre of claims against one of its presenters. Photo / AP
The Sun spoke to a 23-year-old who said that they had met the presenter on a dating app and that, despite being in Tier 3 Covid restrictions at the time in 2020, “he was always asking to meet and I found it quite pressurising”.
The person added that later on in January 2021, during the country’s third national lockdown, the presenter said in a WhatsApp message that he had been “patient as I can” and was not used to “being turned down like this”.
The presenter allegedly then visited the person’s home in February, breaking lockdown restrictions, and sent presents of hundreds of pounds through a PayPal account.
They said they grew uncomfortable with the presenter’s “demanding” messages and felt his actions were hypocritical at a time when the BBC was broadcasting lockdown rules and guidance.
‘Very difficult and complex situation’
In a round of interviews to launch the BBC’s annual report, which revealed that the corporation’s pay bill for top presenters has risen to a six-year high, Davie repeatedly referred to the need to balance duty of care and protecting privacy with what is in the public interest.
He said that the corporate investigation team had not identified any element of criminality in the original complaint.
The Sun story alleged that the payments began when the young person was aged 17. It is an offence to make, distribute, possess or show indecent images of anyone under the age of 18.
But as anger mounted within the BBC over its handling of the presenter, who is said to enjoy a friendly relationship with several executives, Davie was challenged by his own staff.
Interviewing the director-general on Radio 4′s The World at One programme, Sarah Montague said: “We are in a strange situation, aren’t we, in that he’s not been named but everyone in this building knows who it is, and there are an awful lot of people who you also have a duty of care to – male presenters who are having to go on air to say that it’s not them. It’s not a sustainable situation.”
Davie replied that it was “a very difficult and complex situation, and we’re trying to calmly and judiciously navigate our way through quite difficult circumstances”.
Director general Tim Davie tells #BBCWATO the BBC always treated the allegations against a senior presenter as "serious". pic.twitter.com/IB1HfzP1TE
The Metropolitan Police has asked the BBC to pause its own investigation while officers establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed. The force has not launched an investigation at this time.
The young person at the centre of the first claim has said through their lawyer that the allegations are “rubbish” and that no unlawful or inappropriate activity took place.
The individual is being represented by a high-end law firm based in St James’s, central London.
Asked if those legal fees were being paid by the presenter, Davie said: “That is not information that I’m party to. I think that’s not something for the BBC, bluntly.”
Scotland Yard is continuing to carry out a scoping exercise before deciding whether there is enough evidence to launch a full-blown criminal investigation.
Graham Wettone, a former Metropolitan Police officer, said he would expect Scotland Yard to act sooner rather than later. He stressed that examining digital evidence on phones and laptops would be key in establishing if any criminal offences had taken place.
He said: “It is unusual to publicly announce a scoping inquiry ahead of launching an investigation but the police needed to establish what is being alleged. It is no good launching a full-blown criminal investigation based on hearsay and rumour.
“They have not, as far as we know, spoken to either of the people at the centre of the claims, but from what is in the public domain so far it would appear that any criminal offence that may have taken place would be for the possession of indecent images.
“If it is decided to move to a criminal investigation to establish the facts, then further evidence will need to be obtained.”
It is understood another police force has now confirmed a complaint was made to them in April but “no criminality was identified” at the time. The force has said further inquiries are now ongoing.
