The BBC has suspended an unidentified high-profile male presenter accused of having paid a minor for sexually explicit photographs.
(Bloomberg) — The BBC has suspended an unidentified high-profile male presenter accused of having paid a minor for sexually explicit photographs.
“The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations,” an emailed statement from a spokesperson said. “This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.
The move comes after The Sun newspaper reported that a BBC presenter it did not identify had paid £35,000 ($45,000) for sexually explicit images over a three-year period, starting when the subject of the photographs was 17-years old. The revelations have drawn condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum who have accused the corporation of being slow to act on the original complaint which was made in May.
“New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols,” the statement said. “We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.”
Several high-profile BBC presenters including football broadcaster Gary Lineker, radio host Jeremy Vine and journalist Nicky Campbell have since tweeted to make clear that they are not the presenter in question.
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