BBC must 'get a grip' after new allegations presenter 'appeared in underwear in video call'
The unnamed star is facing fresh allegations from the family of a youth who was allegedly paid more than £35,000 for sexually explicit images. The presenter was reportedly seen in a state of undress on their sofa at home.
Sunday 9 July 2023 12:58, UK
The BBC has been told it needs to "get a grip" after fresh claims about a presenter who allegedly paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures.
The unnamed star is reported to have stripped to his underwear during a video call with the youth.
Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that the allegations were "deeply concerning".
"The idea that some presenters think they act with impunity and they can get away with these sorts of things - it does call into question the ethics, the investigations, how long these things take," she said.
"And the BBC, but also other broadcasters, do need to get a grip because we seem to lurch from one scandal to another, and more needs to be done."
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, also told the programme the BBC must "act very swiftly to deal with these allegations and to set out what they are doing to investigate them".
In new allegations published in The Sun on Sunday, the young person's mother said she was "shocked" after her child showed her a screenshot of the video chat, in which the well-known star was sitting in his boxer shorts on a sofa at his home.
She said the man appeared to be "leaning forward, getting ready for my child to perform for him".
"My child told me, 'I have shown things' and this was a picture from some kind of video call," she added.
The newspaper did not say when the alleged incident happened.
The mother also alleged that earlier this year she was shocked after overhearing the presenter "on the phone saying to my child: 'I told you not to f***ing ring me'."
The Sun previously claimed that the well-known presenter had paid more than £35,000 to the youth in return for "sexual pictures".
The man is said to have first requested images when the teenager was 17 back in 2020, and has made a series of payments since then.
No one involved has been named, but The Sun said the presenter has not been suspended. It is understood he is still being paid his six-figure salary in full.
The newspaper said the family made a complaint on 19 May but came forward to The Sun after becoming frustrated that the man was still on air a month later.
The mother said her offspring told her they had also received a payment of £1,000 via PayPal in June which suggested that the "BBC hadn't spoken to this man" in the weeks after the initial complaint.
Going public 'the only way to stop it'
The presenter is now off-air and the BBC has reportedly launched an investigation, although the corporation has not confirmed this.
The youth, who is now aged 20, used the money to fund a crack cocaine habit which "destroyed" their life, the mother has also claimed.
She told the newspaper: "If it goes on then my child is going to wind up dead. Putting this out to the public is the only way to stop it."
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The claims have prompted frenzied speculation on social media over the identity of the presenter and led to a string of BBC stars, including Jeremy Vine and Gary Lineker, to publicly deny they are the mystery figure.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, senior Conservative MP and chair of the Culture, Media and Sport committee, said she was concerned that the corporation had taken "a very long time" to investigate the claims.
"Clearly the BBC now has some questions to answer. There is pressure on their HR department to investigate these latest claims quickly and explain what has happened since this story first came to light back in May."
'We treat any allegations very seriously'
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 in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation."
They added: "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."