The BBC has admitted it “fell short and failed people” – including its own staff – and apologised after finding evidence of “bullying and misogynistic” behaviour by its former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.
A £3.3m external inquiry published on Tuesday found the broadcaster “missed opportunities” during the DJ’s two decades at the organisation that could have led to action. The inquiry was triggered by a 2022 Guardian and BBC News joint investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by the DJ.
Leading KC Gemma White, who heard from more than 120 people during the inquiry, found that while there was no “significant BBC knowledge of allegations or concerns about sexual misconduct” by Westwood, there were “a range of factors which ought to have alerted the BBC to the possibility that [he] might present a risk to young women and girls”.
The BBC board, which commissioned the review in 2022, added that the allegations “were treated in isolation rather than being brought together. Had this happened, the BBC may have seen a pattern of behaviour that it could have acted on.”
Apologising to those affected it said: “There is evidence of bullying and misogynistic behaviour on the part of Mr Westwood and the plain fact is that his general conduct was entirely incompatible with BBC values – not just now, but then. The organisation fell short and failed people – including our own staff – who had a right to expect better from us.”
The inquiry comes almost three years after a joint investigation by the Guardian and BBC News in which seven women accused Westwood, 67, of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour.
The DJ – who became one of the best-known names in hip-hop after hosting BBC Radio 1’s first Rap Show in 1994 – denied all the allegations, with a spokesperson saying they were “completely false”.
A little more than 24 hours after the publication of the allegations, and the broadcast of the BBC Three programme Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power, Westwood stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra.
A further 10 women made claims of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour against Westwood in another joint investigation in July. The report included a claim from a woman who said Westwood first had sex with her in the early 1990s when she was 14 and he was in his 30s. Westwood did not respond when contacted about the allegations.
The women’s stories provoked a criminal inquiry by the Metropolitan police, during which the DJ was questioned under caution by officers.
The BBC external report – which was delayed after a request from the Metropolitan police – details a number of new allegations against Westwood. They include 22 testimonies from members of the public, 18 of which are redacted to protect a criminal investigation, according to a source at the BBC. White said she had been told in “numerous interviews” of a widely shared belief among Radio 1/1Xtra staff, “that Tim Westwood had a ‘type’, namely significantly younger Black women”.
The new testimonies include an allegation that Westwood “hounded” a 17-year-old black girl, invited a 15- or 16-year-old girl back to his home after an under-16s night and repeatedly talked about the breasts of a 1Xtra drive-time show guest. Westwood’s lawyers told the inquiry that he “has never had any sexual interest in children under the age of 16”, had not acted in a “predatory and/or sexual manner” and “did not (and does not) present any risk to young women, at the BBC nor elsewhere”.
Staff members who had worked with Westwood said he had left colleagues in tears, but many felt unable to complain because of the “feeling that … that senior management were likely to side with presenters” and a perception that the DJ was “close” with top BBC figures.
Westwood – who declined to take part in the review – denied bullying and harassment. His lawyers said that on occasions he had confronted some of his colleagues’ “poor attitude to work” and accepted that this “contributed to a divisive atmosphere” in some teams.
White found evidence of senior management “reacting firmly” to public complaints about the DJ, and wanting to create an environment where employees could raise concerns. But a “lack of formality” was likely to have left employees not feeling confident that concerns about the DJ “would be properly addressed.”
Sophie*, who gave evidence to the inquiry after speaking to the Guardian and BBC News, said the apology from the BBC “not good enough”.
“He’s not the first, definitely won’t be the last,” she said. “It is good that it has come out, because everybody should be accountable for their actions. I hope something positive can come from it, but I feel like it’s just a tick box.”
The report had to be a “watershed moment” for the BBC, said Philippa Childs, head of the Bectu union. “The review’s findings all too plainly speak to the culture of extreme power dynamics and ‘untouchable’ talent that persists in the creative industries,” she said.
The BBC announced an independent review into its workplace culture last August after the disgraced former presenter Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children. It also apologised in January after a review into the behaviour of Russell Brand.
On Tuesday it said the BBC had “been too siloed [and] deferential to high profile individuals”. That had changed “considerably” since Westwood left in 2013, and processes and policies had been improved.
In a meeting with the BBC director general, Tim Davie, on Tuesday the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said it was essential that BBC staff and the wider public could have confidence in the national broadcaster. “The allegations against Tim Westwood are very serious,” said Nandy.
“There have been far too many instances of appalling behaviour in the media industry and there has been a culture of silence around inappropriate behaviour for too long. This cannot continue. In my discussion with the BBC director general, I was clear that the BBC board and executive must grip the issue of workplace culture and respond at pace to the independent review they have commissioned as soon as it has concluded.”
In November, the Met said Westwood had been interviewed under caution on four separate occasions regarding offences alleged to have happened in London between 1982 and 2016 and confirmed it had submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). On Tuesday, a CPS spokesperson said it had no updates to provide on the case.
* Name has been changed.
