Global Courant
A camera is seen outside the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) headquarters in London, UK, March 13, 2023.
Henry Nichols | Reuters
Britain’s BBC suspended a male staff member on Sunday after an allegation that one of its star presenters paid a teenager thousands of pounds to pose for sexually explicit photos, starting when the teen was 17 years old.
The broadcaster said it was first aware of a complaint in May, but new allegations of a different nature were made against him on Thursday, and he had informed “external authorities”. BBC News said it understood that was referring to the police.
“This is a complex and rapidly changing set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform the appropriate next steps,” it said in a statement.
“We can also confirm that a male member of staff has been suspended.”
The statement said, “It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with due care,” without giving details of the claims.
The Sun, which first reported the allegations, quoted the youngster’s mother as saying the unnamed male presenter had paid the teen more than £35,000 ($45,000) over three years for the footage.
The mother told the paper that the teen used the money to fund a crack cocaine addiction.
The family complained to the broadcaster on May 19, but the presenter was not immediately taken off the air, according to the Sun, which said the family had not asked for payment for their story.
Earlier on Sunday, culture secretary Lucy Frazer had urgent talks with the broadcaster’s director-general, Tim Davie, about the allegations, which she described as “deeply concerning”.
“(Davie) has assured me that the BBC is investigating quickly and sensitively,” she said on Twitter.
“Given the nature of the allegations, it is important that the BBC is now given the leeway to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action.”
The BBC, which is funded by a license fee paid by every TV-watching household, said it “takes all allegations seriously” and has “robust internal processes to proactively address such allegations”.
“We have made it clear that if – at any time – new information comes to light or is provided to us, it will be appropriately followed up and actively followed up on,” it said.
