A BBC presenter has been suspended following accusations that one of its biggest presenters paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit photos. The corpoation has also confirmed it is in touch with the police over the issue.
The BBC released a statement today (July 9) confirming the news, with their website stating that it was a presenter. A statement from the organisation 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.”
A story on the BBC website adds: "The BBC says the unnamed male presenter who is alleged to have paid thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit sexual images has been suspended."
In a follow-up email sent to BBC staff, director general Tim Davie reiterated that the BBC is taking the allegations "incredibly seriously".
In the email, he 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."
The news comes following urgent talks between the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer and the BBC director-general Tim Davie. The "household name" BBC presenter is accused of first requesting images from the teenager in 2020 when they were 17-years-old and has allegedly made a series of payments over the years since then.
