BBC presenter scandal: Allegations are ‘rubbish’, says young person’s lawyer – report

Claims made by the mother in the BBC presenter scandal are “rubbish”, a lawyer for the young person has reportedly said.

In a letter to the BBC, the lawyer casts doubt on The Sun’s story about the male star who has not been publicly identified but is reportedly a “household name”.

The letter says the young person sent a denial to the newspaper on Friday evening, saying there was “no truth to it”, according to the BBC.

However, the “inappropriate article” was still published, the lawyer told the corporation.

Read more: BBC presenter claims – live updates

The BBC quoted a spokesperson for The Sun as saying: “We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.

“Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”

According to The Sun, which first broke the story on Saturday, the presenter paid the young person, now aged, 20, about £35,000 in exchange for sexually explicit images over a three-year period.

He allegedly began requesting the images in 2020 when the individual was 17 years old and made a series of payments over the years.

The individual had reportedly used the money to fund an addiction to crack cocaine – that had “destroyed” their life, according to their mother.

It was also alleged the presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with them.

Family members of the young person said they made a complaint to the BBC on 19 May, but approached The Sun after becoming frustrated the presenter was still on air a month later.

While the paper has not revealed the name of the star, they have said he is paid a six-figure salary and is currently off-air. He was suspended by the BBC on Sunday.

Read more:
Presenter should only be named after ‘full’ investigation – justice secretary
Everything we know about the claims
The stars who have denied it’s them

Following the publication of allegations in the press, the presenter is understood to have contacted the young person involved, phoning them and asking, “what have you done?”

In an earlier statement, put out by the BBC on Sunday, the corporation confirmed they first received a complaint about the presenter in May.

They said they were taking the allegations “very seriously,” and had gone on to suspend the presenter after receiving new allegations of a different nature in addition to their own enquiries.

The Metropolitan Police is now “assessing information” supplied by the BBC over the claims.

The force is carrying out further enquiries to establish whether any crime has been committed following the allegations.

Earlier today, representatives for the broadcaster spoke to Met detectives, who said they are looking at the information discussed at the virtual meeting – but have not yet launched an investigation.

Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine and Nicky Campbell are among the BBC stars to have publicly stated that they are not the presenter in question.

The presenter remains unnamed due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, the reports in The Sun are allegations and it is not clear what evidence they have and who supplied it.

It is also unclear if any laws have been broken, without knowing the content of the alleged photographs, and when exactly they were sent.

And the UK’s defamation laws protect individuals against harm, reputational or otherwise, caused by things that have been said about them which turn out to be false.