By Emma Petrie & Ian Youngs
BBC News
Claims relating to allegations about an unnamed BBC presenter have been dominating the headlines.
The story emerged when the Sun newspaper reported that the presenter was alleged to have paid someone for sexually explicit photos, beginning when they were 17.
On Monday, that young person’s lawyer said nothing inappropriate or unlawful had taken place.
Here is a timeline of events so far:
Friday 19 May
The young person’s family complain to the BBC about the behaviour of one of its presenters, according to the Sun.
The BBC Investigations team begins looking into the matter, according to director general Tim Davie.
Thursday 6 July
New allegations “of a different nature” are put to the BBC, according to the corporation’s account.
Friday 7 July
The Sun’s first story is published on Friday night, with a mother’s claims that a BBC presenter paid their child tens of thousands of pounds for explicit photos over three years.
The paper quotes the mother as saying the young person used the money to fund a crack cocaine habit, and that she was worried her child could “wind up dead”.
The young person sends a WhatsApp message to the paper on this evening denying the claims, saying their mother’s statement was “totally wrong and there was no truth to it”, according to a later letter from their lawyer.
The BBC says it treats “any allegations very seriously”, and if it receives information requiring further investigation, steps it takes include “actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation”.
It adds: “If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop. If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”
Saturday 8 July
The Sun publishes more allegations, quoting the mother as saying the presenter was pictured in his underwear “ready for my child to perform for him”.
Meanwhile, following speculation about the star’s identity on social media, BBC presenters including Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell deny involvement to publicly clear their names.
Sunday 9 July
The BBC says it has suspended a male staff member and is “working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”.
“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care,” a statement says.
The BBC says it has been in touch with police. The Metropolitan Police says it “has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made”.
The Sun reports the presenter allegedly made two calls to the young person and asked them “what have you done”, and appealed to them to call their mother to “stop the investigation”.
Monday 10 July
Downing Street says it is “right this is looked into carefully and there is transparency at an appropriate time”, and that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has “full confidence” in Mr Davie as director general.
Representatives from the BBC meet detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command. The force says it is “assessing” information from the BBC, but there is “no investigation at this time”.
In a letter to the BBC, the lawyer representing the young person at the centre of the allegations disputes their mother’s account of events, saying “the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish”.
The letter claims the young person sent the newspaper a denial on Friday, but it proceeded to publish “their inappropriate article”.
In response, the Sun says it “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” and it has “seen evidence that supports their concerns”, the Sun says, adding: “It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”
The parents tell the Sun they stand by their account.
In an article in The Sun published on Monday evening, the step-father is quoted as saying allegations were put to the BBC “for an hour”. This appears to contradict a previous statement in Monday’s edition which stated: “The family say no-one from the corporation rang them for a proper interview after the initial complaint.”
The article also reports that the step-father went to police about the matter but was told “they couldn’t do anything as they said it wasn’t illegal”.
Tuesday 11 July
The BBC is due to publish its annual report, which was in the diary before these allegations became public.
The director general traditionally hosts a press conference, which is likely to be dominated by this story this year.
