Claims made against a BBC presenter are "rubbish", a lawyer representing the young person involved in the claims has said. In a letter reported by BBC News At Six on Monday evening the lawyer for the young person wrote "nothing inappropriate or unlawful" had taken place between their client and the BBC presenter, who has not been named.
The BBC reports that the letter claimed that the young person sent a denial to The Sun on Friday evening saying there was "no truth to it" and that allegations reported by the newspaper over the weekend were "rubbish" but that the "inappropriate article" was still published.
Last Friday The Sun reported that a male BBC presenter is accused of paying a young person £35,000 for explicit images. It claimed the unnamed presenter first received images from the young person when they were 17. The initial allegations came from the person's mother, who told the newspaper she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear." The BBC confirmed on Sunday that the presenter had been suspended and that it was investigating the claims.
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It is alleged that the first complaint was made to the BBC on May 19, 2023. On Sunday, July 9, Tim Davie who is the director general of the corporation, said it received allegations "of a different nature" on Thursday, July 6. The first Sun story detailing the claims was published on July 7.
According to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Sun said on Monday: "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."
BBC News has reported that they do not know the identity of the young person and has not spoken directly to them. In the meantime, the Metropolitan Police are "assessing" information from the BBC over the allegations made against the presenter. On Monday detectives held a virtual meeting with BBC representatives, a spokesperson for the force confirmed.
