Most of Sunday’s papers are leading with allegations that a BBC presenter has paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. The Sun on Sunday reveals fresh allegations that the BBC star stripped to his underwear for a video call with the young person, their mother has told the paper. She claims, in the Sun, that she saw the presenter “leaning forward, getting ready for my child to perform for him”.
The BBC is “under fire” as it has been accused of mishandling an investigation into the presenter accused of paying a young person thousands of pounds for explicit pictures, reports the Sunday Telegraph. The paper says senior Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage said she was concerned the BBC had taken a long time to investigate the allegations. The Telegraph’s front page also features a picture of former chancellor George Osborne at his wedding to Thea Rogers.
The Daily Mail says the scandal facing the BBC has “deepened” as several stars were falsely accused on social media of being the presenter alleged to have paid £35,000 across three years to the young person. On Saturday, former home secretary Priti Patel said the BBC’s treatment of the complaint was “derisory”, notes the paper.
BBC presenters who rushed to distance themselves from the allegations included Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and Radio 2 presenters Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine, reports the Sunday Times. The young person’s mother complained to the BBC on May 19, notes the paper, adding that after becoming frustrated that the presenter stayed on air, she then went to Sun.
After allegations were made against the unnamed BBC presenter, the Sunday Mirror says he partied with bosses at an awards do. It said the “bash” came weeks after the mother made claims the presenter had paid her child for explicit pictures.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Express says banks have been accused of putting the nation’s security at risk by refusing to do business with the Ministry of Defence. The MoD has launched a probe after dozens of military companies complained that they were denied banking services because of the nature of their work, reports the paper. It says the growth of environmental, social and governance policies – which urges firms to invest “ethically” – has been blamed.
After one minute of “exhaustive research”, the Daily Star claims that a study has revealed boffins are “Britain’s biggest love cheats”. With a picture of a clipboard covered in equations, the paper’s headline reads: “Boffs are Britain’s biggest bonkers.”
