The teenager at the centre of the BBC presenter scandal has said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed star accused of paying them £35,000 for sexually explicit images.
In another day of extraordinary drama, they said the allegations published in The Sun, were “rubbish”, in a letter issued by their lawyer to the broadcaster.
The claim comes hours after the Metropolitan Police confirmed “there is no investigation at this time” following a weekend of online speculation over the identity of the male star, believed to be a household name.
It’s understood BBC staff are furious at the broadcaster’s handling of the scandal, which prompted several of the corporation’s top talent to rush to declare their innocence and that the presenter, who was suspended on Sunday, is not minded to reveal their identity until the outcome of any police probe.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met BBC bosses on Monday to discuss the allegations and decide if any laws had been broken.
“They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.”
In a letter reported by BBC News At Six, the young person said via a lawyer: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are ‘rubbish’.”
A spokesperson for The Sun said: “We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.
“Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”
Following the lawyer statement the parents of the 20-year-old told The Sun they stood by their claims.
They told the newspaper: "It is sad but we stand by our account and we hope they get the help they need."
Adding: "We did this to help - and the presenter has got into their head. How did they afford a lawyer? We are so sad."
Their step-father added that they were "disappointed" the young person had made a statement via their lawyer. "It's not true," he added.
It follows claims in The Sun on Friday that the presenter began paying for sexually explicit images from an unnamed teenager, now aged 20, when they were 17.
New allegations then emerged on Sunday night that the BBC presenter had made panicked calls to the complainant asking “What have you done?”. It has also been claimed he asked them to get their mother to “stop the investigation”.
The mother of the youngster alleged that the presenter had paid over £35,000 in the past three years for sexual pictures, with her child using the payments to fund a crack cocaine habit.
The BBC star who has not been named, has been suspended while the corporation said it was working as quickly as possible to establish the facts.
Tim Davie, Director General of the BBC, said the allegations were being taken ‘incredibly seriously’— (PA)
Although the age of consent for sexual activity in England and Wales is 16 years old, the law on indecent images treats all under-18s as children, meaning the allegations could lead to a criminal offence if proven.
Director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, has said that the corporation takes “all such allegations incredibly seriously”, while a spokesperson said that “robust internal processes” were in place to deal with such matters.
The police did however confirm on Monday that they were investigating a report of malicious communications on social media, following a complaint by another presenter.
Nicky Campbell described it as a ‘distressing weekend’ due to baseless social media speculation— (Getty)
A number of BBC presenters, including Rylan Clark, Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine and Nicky Campbell, were forced to distance themselves from the controversy after being inaccurately named on Twitter.
Speaking on his BBC Radio 5 Live show, Mr Campbell said: “Obviously thoughts with the alleged victim and family.
“So a bit of perspective here, worse things happen at sea as they say, but it was a distressing weekend, I can’t deny it, for me and others falsely named.
“Today, I am having further conversations with the police in terms of malicious communication and with lawyers in terms of defamation.”
Meanwhile, home secretary Suella Braverman told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that“prompt action” is “absolutely vital” in cases of serious allegations such as these, and that a BBC investigation should be allowed to “play out before we jump to any conclusion”.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said Mr Davie assured her the BBC is investigating the allegations— (PA)
Following a crisis meeting over the weekend, culture secretary Lucy Frazer said Mr Davie had assured her the corporation was “investigating swiftly and sensitively”.
The BBC was first contacted by the young person’s family on 19 May, but was provided with new allegations of a “different nature” last Thursday.
In an interview with The Sun, the youngster’s mother said she discovered a picture of the presenter “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear” on her child’s phone.
She was told it was a “picture from some kind of video call” and looked like he was “getting ready for my child to perform for him”.
The family first complained to the BBC on 19 May but approached the paper after becoming frustrated that the presenter was still on TV.
Following the publication of their claims, the family were said to be upset by the BBC’s latest response and alleged that “no one from the BBC rang them for a proper interview after the initial complaint.”
Downing Street said Rishi Sunak had “full confidence” in Mr Davie following the allegations, which they described as “concerning”.
The spokesperson also warned social media sites to ensure their platforms were “properly policed” after a number of “baseless accusations” were made against various TV personalities.
