Departing BBC director general Tim Davie has said it became “very clear” Scott Mills had to be sacked after the corporation received “new information”.
Speaking on an all-staff call on his final day in the role, Davie described the decision as a “real shock to the organisation” and said leadership had sought to act “fairly” and “with kindness”.
“It was new information quite recently that we received that made it very clear about the decision we had to make,” he said.
“When something happens where there’s a lot of grief and shock, all I would say is we’re trying to act as the leadership with kindness.”
Pressed on when concerns first emerged, Davie declined to go further, pointing to the BBC’s official statement. “We obviously have to be sensitive when you’ve got personal information… but the statement is really clear,” he said.
He added that standards across the corporation had shifted, saying behaviour once tolerated in parts of the industry “20 years ago… just would not be acceptable”.
The BBC confirmed earlier this week that Mills’ contract was terminated on March 27 after it obtained information said to breach its values.
In a statement, the corporation said: “In recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values.”
It added that it had been aware since 2017 of an ongoing police investigation, which was closed in 2019 with no arrest or charges. The BBC said it is now reviewing what was known internally at the time.
Reports suggest Mills was questioned in 2018 over historical allegations of serious sexual offences. The Metropolitan Police investigation, launched in 2016, was later passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
The allegations are said to relate to events between 1997 and 2000, involving a teenage boy under 16.
Mills broke his silence on Wednesday, confirming the investigation related to him and that he had fully cooperated.
In a statement issued through his lawyers, he said: “An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence… I fully cooperated.”
He added that the CPS found the evidential threshold for charges had not been met and said he would not comment further.
“I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment,” he said, thanking supporters and former colleagues for their messages of kindness.
