The parents of the young person at the heart of the BBC presenter scandal say they stand by their allegations and question how their child can afford a lawyer, it's been reported.
Earlier today, BBC News revealed a letter from a lawyer acting on behalf of the young person disputing allegations made by their mother in a national newspaper.
On Friday [July 7], The Sun reported an unidentified BBC presenter allegedly paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures.
It was claimed an unnamed star at the national broadcaster has been accused of handing over cash sums in return for explicit images from the teenager when they were 17-years-old.
But in a statement shared on BBC News at 6pm this evening via a lawyer, the young person - now 20-years-old - denied the allegations presented to The Sun and told the BBC how they rubbished the claims to the newspaper prior to publication on Friday night.
Now, the mother and step-father of the young person - who has not been identified - tells The Sun how they stand by their claims and their account of their child's relationship with the unnamed BBC star.
The mum told the publication this evening: "It is sad but we stand by our account and we hope they get the help they need. We did this to help - and the presenter has got into their head. How did they afford a lawyer? We are so sad."
On Friday [July 7], The Sun reported an unidentified BBC presenter allegedly paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures. It was claimed an unnamed star at the national broadcaster has been accused of handing over cash sums in return for explicit images from the teenager when they were 17-years-old.
In an additional report, the mother of the anonymous accuser alleged the still then unnamed BBC presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with her then teenage child.
"I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear," she told the publication, before adding: "I immediately recognised him, he was 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."
Speculation began regarding who the unnamed presenter could be, with Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine and Nicky Campbell all issuing statements via their respective Twitter accounts to deny being the mystery presenter.
On Sunday, the BBC confirmed a male member of staff had been suspended following reports emerging on Friday, in which an unnamed BBC presenter was accused of paying for sexually explicit images from a teenager.
This evening, the young person at the centre of the scandal rubbished the claims via a lawyer. The legal letter now potentially throws some doubt on the initial story.
Katie Razzall, the BBC's culture and media editor, writes on the BBC website: "We received this letter late this afternoon and it makes key claims that, if true, potentially throws some doubt on the story that was on the front pages throughout the weekend.
"It's a letter from a lawyer who says he represents the young person at the centre of the allegations and he says the young person sent a denial to the Sun newspaper on Friday evening, before publication, by WhatsApp, to tell them the statement their mother made about them was 'totally wrong and there was no truth in it'.
"Nonetheless the Sun newspaper proceeded to publish what the lawyer and the client called 'their inappropriate article'.
"The letter from the lawyer also says: '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'."
In response, The Sun told the BBC: "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."
