The BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photos wasn’t questioned by management until seven weeks after the broadcaster first learned of the allegations, it has emerged.
The unnamed presenter was suspended on Sunday after The Sun reported last week that he paid a teenager more than £35,000 over three years to pose for sexually explicit photos, beginning when the youth was 17 years old.
The BBC said on Tuesday it had received a complaint from a member of the young person’s family about the presenter in May, but Director-General Tim Davie was first informed of the allegations seven weeks later.
Mr. Davie told reporters that this was because the investigations team had failed to get in touch with the complainant and could not verify the claims.
Timeline
The BBC released a timeline of events, saying a family member of the youth first complained on May 18 at a BBC building.The following day the same family member contacted BBC Audience Services and the details of the claims were referred to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team, who assessed that the claims did not include an allegation of criminality, but nonetheless merited further investigation.
The BBC said two subsequent attempts to contact the complainant via phone and email were unsuccessful and while the Corporate Investigations Team were due to return to the matter in the coming weeks, no additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after June 6.
The Sun first contacted the BBC on July 6 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.
The claims made by The Sun contained new allegations that were different from the matters being considered by BBC Corporate Investigations, the corporation said.
‘Lessons to be Learned’
Mr. Davie said he has asked Leigh Tavaziva, the BBC Group chief operating officer, to assess whether its protocols and procedures are appropriate in light of the case.Speaking at a press conference about the BBC’s annual report, Mr. Davie said: “Of course there will be lessons to be learned, and how processes could be improved.
“Immediately I have asked that we assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation.
“We will take time to properly review the current protocols and procedures to ensure they remain sufficient based on anything we learn from this case.”
Meanwhile, the BBC has also been asked to pause its internal investigation into the allegations following a meeting with the Metropolitan Police.
Conflicting Claims
It comes after lawyers representing the youth at the centre of the controversy rejected the allegations made by their parents.In a letter reported by BBC News on Monday, the lawyer said: “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.”
The legal representative also said the youth told The Sun on Friday evening before the newspaper published the story that there was “no truth to it.”
A spokesman for The Sun said: “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.”
The mother and stepfather of the young person stood by their allegation, and questioned how their child could afford the lawyer, The Sun reported.
