BBC suspends male presenter over claims he paid teenager for sexually explicit images

Britain’s BBC suspended a male member of staff on Sunday following an allegation that one of its star presenters paid a teenager thousands of pounds to pose for sexually explicit photos, beginning when they were 17 years old. The broadcaster said it first became aware of a complaint in May, but new allegations of a different nature were made to it on Thursday, and it had informed “external authorities”. London’s Metropolitan Police said it had received initial contact from the BBC but no formal referral or allegation had been made. We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow,” it said in a statement. The BBC said it was a “complex and fast moving set of circumstances” and it was “working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”. “We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended,” it said in a statement. The statement said “it is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care”, without giving details on the claims. The Sun newspaper, which first reported the allegations, cited the young person’s mother as saying the unnamed male presenter had paid the teenager more than £35,000 (US$45,000) over three years for the images. The mother told the newspaper that the teenager had used the cash to fund a crack cocaine habit. Indian court issues summons to BBC in a defamation case over Modi film The family complained to the broadcaster on May 19, but the presenter was not immediately taken off air, according to the Sun, which said the family had not requested payment for their story. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer held urgent talks with the broadcaster’s director general, Tim Davie, earlier on Sunday about the allegations, which she described as “deeply concerning”. “(Davie) has assured me the BBC are investigating swiftly and sensitively,” she said on Twitter. “Given the nature of the allegations it is important that the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action.” The BBC, which is funded by a licence fee paid by every television-watching household, said it “takes any allegations seriously” and had “robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations”. “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,” it said. New Zealand broadcaster suspends journalist for ‘pro-Kremlin garbage’ on Ukraine On the News at Ten presented by Clive Myrie, special correspondent Lucy Manning said: “I think this is very serious for the BBC, let’s make no bones about this. “The understanding is the presenter isn’t due on air in the near future, but we haven’t been told – and we have asked – we haven’t been told by the BBC whether there has or hasn’t been a formal suspension. “The BBC will need to answer if the investigation should have happened sooner, if it should have been more thorough, and if it’s fair to other presenters unconnected to this that their names are now sort of in the headlines.” Manning said she thinks this “really does have the potential to severely dent the BBC’s reputation.” On Saturday, amid speculation on social media, a number of BBC stars tweeted to say they were not the presenter at the centre of The Sun story. Rylan Clark tweeted: “Not sure why my name’s 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.” Jeremy Vine tweeted: “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.” Gary Lineker tweeted: “Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me.” Nicky Campbell appeared to suggest he had contacted police about being mentioned in connection with the story. He tweeted a screenshot which featured the Metropolitan Police logo and the words: “Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime.” BBC crisis escalates as players and stars rally behind Gary Lineker In his tweet, he wrote: “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.” A BBC spokesperson said: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them. “As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this. That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us to seek further detail and understanding of the situation. “If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop. “If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.” Additional reporting by dpa