The BBC has suspended one of its male staffers after reports surfaced that he had allegedly asked a teenager for sexually explicit photos.
The allegations were first reported in U.K. tabloid The Sun on Friday. The mother of the teenager claimed her child used the alleged 35,000 pounds (about $44,934) received from the staffer to fund an addiction to crack cocaine.
“All I want is for this man to stop paying my child for sexual pictures and stop him funding my child’s drug habit,” she told the publication, adding that the requests for photos began when her child was 17.
The staffer hasn’t been publicly named yet, but presenters Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Gary Linekar took to their respective Twitter accounts to say it isn’t them. Nicky Campbell also tweeted that he reported an account that claimed he was the one who requested the photos.
The BBC released a statement Sunday, saying it “takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.”
It explained that the broadcaster had first become aware of a complaint in May, but the staffer remained on air. Since new allegations were shared on Thursday of a different nature, the broadcaster has since been in touch with the police.
In a follow-up email to BBC staff, director general Tim Davie stressed everyone is taking the allegations “incredibly seriously” and added that “individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex.”
The internal email continued, “I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent. We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports. I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate.”
Read the BBC’s full statement below.
The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.
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.
It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
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.
The BBC first became aware of a complaint 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.
We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.
We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date.”
