The teenager whose mother claims sent sexually explicit images to a BBC presenter has disputed their parent's allegations.
In a letter to the BBC, a lawyer for the now 20-year-old person wrote: "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 letter from the lawyer also said that the young person sent a denial to the newspaper on Friday evening via WhatsApp, in which they said the allegation was "totally wrong and there was no truth to it".
A spokesperson 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 BBC confirmed on Sunday that an unnamed male member of staff has been suspended following allegations that a presenter paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit images.
A mother claimed that the man in question started interacting with her child when they were just 17 and the money they were reportedly paid funded the child's drug addiction.
As such the unnamed presenter is currently under investigation by the corporation and the BBC has met with the Metropolitan Police today "to discuss the matter".
The identity of the presenter remains a mystery, as neither the BBC nor The Sun, who the mum spoke to, have confirmed a 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."
A number of well-known BBC stars have already spoken out to deny they are the 'household name' behind the alleged sex scandal amid frenzied speculation - including Gary Lineker and Rylan Clark. This is everything we know about the claims so far...
The messages between the TV presenter and the teen allegedly started in 2020 and the presenter reportedly refrained from hiding his identity, as well as allegedly sending images of himself at his place of work. In an interview with The Sun, the mother of the teen allegedly involved said she previously loved watching the star on TV - alluding to a household name.
She claimed: "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.
"When I see him on telly, I feel sick. I blame this BBC man for destroying my child's life. Taking my child's innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child."
The family of the young person involved claim they contacted the BBC on May 19 about the man's behaviour and begged them to get him to "stop sending the cash" after he allegedly sent £5,000 in one transaction for sexually explicit photographs of their child. However, just weeks later, the man was reportedly partying with fellow stars at a swanky awards event.
The star attended alongside senior BBC executives and was seen with them enjoying the champagne reception before taking their seats for the ceremony. Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, a guest at the event said: "If this man was aware of what was hanging over him, he certainly didn't show it."
Another source added: "It is astonishing someone accused of such serious allegations was able to attend an event like this. The BBC had been made aware in the strongest possible terms of what this person is supposed to have done – and still they were able to go along, with colleagues in tow. It is very odd, to say the least."
Over the weekend, the BBC told the Mirror they were investigating the allegations but they went on to announce on Sunday, July 9 that the man had been taken off air. But the presenter is believed to still be being paid his six-figure salary.
It was also reported that the presenter at the centre of the allegations made "panicked" calls to the young person, who is now 20, last week. A newspaper claimed the presenter allegedly asked "What have you done?", adding that he allegedly asked them to ring their mother to get her to "stop the investigation".
In a statement, a spokesperson for The BBC 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."
On Monday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that detectives are assessing information discussed in a virtual meeting with the BBC over the allegations but there is no investigation "at this time". The force said in a statement: "Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command met with representatives from the BBC on the morning of Monday, 10 July. The meeting took place virtually.
"They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed. There is no investigation at this time."
Stars that have denied being the 'BBC presenter'
The first big-name BBC star to deny being involved in the scandal was BBC Radio 2 presenter Rylan Clark who urged social media users to: "Take my name out ya mouths." Rylan, who is currently filming for a new TV show in Italy, spoke out after his name was among those being touted around on Twitter after the initial report dropped.
"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," he warned. Hours after Rylan's post, fellow Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine also took to social media to deny he was the man involved in the allegations.
He wrote: "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."
In addition to this, Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker spoke out to clear his name on Saturday, tweeting: "Hate to disappoint the haters but it's not me." While BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nicky Campbell said he would take legal action against anyone who wrongly named him online.
The BBC Radio 5 Live presenter posted a website screenshot on Twitter which said: "Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime."
Campbell also responded to several Twitter users who appeared to falsely accuse him on the site, telling them "please delete these or I will sue you" and "coming for you". He added: "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."
His fellow BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake also responded to speculation by explaining online why he had recently been absent from work. "I'm off air because of the tennis. Like I am every year. Back on air 17th July," he said.
