The BBC presenter accused of paying for sexually explicit photos was on Wednesday under growing pressure to name himself, after fresh allegations about his conduct and a star colleague repeating his call for an end to the secrecy.
Jeremy Vine said the presenter “needs to come forward now” to protect innocent colleagues and the BBC — and also disclosed that he had been advised by his wife to wear a baseball cap to a Bruce Springsteen concert to keep him safe from unjustified targeting.
The radio host’s plea came as fresh allegations emerged that the presenter — who has been suspended despite denying any wrongdoing — broke Covid rules to visit a 23-year-old he met on a dating app.
The Sun newspaper said the presenter had sent “pressurising messages” and money to the 23-year-old and received a sexually explicit photo in return, as well as travelling to the person’s home at a time when coronavirus laws outlawed such meetings.
The latest allegations follow earlier claims that the presenter contacted another young person on a dating app, pressured them to meet and then sent them threatening messages.
It has also been reported that he sent “creepy” messages using love hearts and kisses on Instagram to a 17-year-old — although it was unclear that he knew their age at the time. The initial allegation, reported in The Sun, was that the presenter had paid a young person for sexually explicit photographs.
Met detectives have begun assessing the claims and have asked the BBC to pause its internal inquiry, though the force said it has yet to decide whether there is any evidence to warrant a criminal investigation.
Vine today repeated his call for the presenter — whose name has not been published because of privacy rulings by the courts in other cases — to identity himself to save innocent people from being targeted with unjustified “vitriol” or worse. “It’s his decision, but he needs to come forward now,” Vine told Channel 5, adding that he needed to “look at the damage to the BBC, look at the damage to his friends” and that he “has to show some degree of concern for those people — and I’m one of them — who’ve been falsely accused”.
Asked again if the presenter should name himself, Vine said: “I think it’s better for him if he does. The idea that he could just remain anonymous forever, and then walk back into the building with his ID pass? Oh no, that’s not going to happen.” He said his wife had advised him on safety ahead of the concert. “She gave me a baseball cap, and said ‘you better wear this’,” he said.
Treasury minister Victoria Atkins said she sympathised with those wrongly tarnished as a result of the presenter’s anonymity, although she declined to say that he should be identified.
“I can imagine people working for the BBC who have never put a foot wrong, … are feeling very, very unhappy at the moment,” Ms Atkins told Times Radio.
BBC director general Tim Davie ordered a review to “assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation”.
