The BBC presenter at the centre of claims that he paid a young person for explicit sexual images allegedly broke lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old from a dating website, according to a report.
The unnamed BBC star is currently suspended over claims first reported in the Sun newspaper that he paid a young person for explicit images.
Claims have also emerged that he was abusive to a person in their early twenties he met on a dating website.
On Tuesday evening, the Sun reported fresh allegations that the unnamed presenter broke the third national lockdown in February 2021 to visit the 23-year-old’s home.
He is also alleged to have sent cash and asked for a picture, receiving a “semi-naked” photograph.
The person the presenter is alleged to have met told the publication: “The BBC were briefing the nation on the rules — when their star who was part of the institution was quite happy to break them.”
They told the paper they initially began chatting with the star in November 2020 on a dating site and moved to Whatsapp.
They alleged that the presenter consistently asked to meet, despite Covid rules at the time.
They said the presenter stayed at their flat for an hour and also gave them more than £600 in three payments.
The Sun said it had approached the BBC and the presenter for comment and would hand over evidence to the BBC’s investigation team.
The claims will likely pile fresh pressure on the broadcaster, with an internal BBC investigation into the presenter’s conduct paused on the request of the Met Police.
However, a Met spokesperson said: “There remains no police investigation at this time.”
It comes after BBC News reported allegations on Tuesday that the star sent a person in their early 20s “threatening messages" which the BBC said it had seen and confirmed came from a phone number belonging to the presenter.
This allegedly arose after that person posted online alluding to having had contact with a BBC presenter and hinted they might name him.
The messages left them feeling “scared”, the broadcaster reported.
Claims against the unnamed member of BBC staff first emerged in the Sun newspaper on Saturday, which quoted a mother who claimed her child, now 20, was paid £35,000 over three years, from the age of 17, for sexually explicit images.
A lawyer for that young person rubbished the allegations on Monday, saying they were untrue.
However, the family has stood by their claims.
It has raised questions over how the BBC handled a complaint made by that family on May 18.
The BBC has said senior executives and the director-general only became aware of the case on July 6, when the Sun approached it with their story but that two attempts had been made to contact the family before then had been made.
Director-general Tim Davie said he has ordered a review to "assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation".
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The BBC has processes and protocols for receiving information and managing complaints when they are first made. We always take these matters extremely seriously and seek to manage them with the appropriate duty of care.
"The events of recent days have shown how complex and challenging these kinds of cases can be and how vital it is that they are handled with the utmost diligence and care.
"There will, of course, be lessons to be learned following this exercise."
