BBC presenter at centre of explicit pictures scandal faces new claims from separate young person
11 July 2023, 16:10 | Updated: 11 July 2023, 16:45
A second person has come forward with a complaint about the BBC presenter who has been accused of paying a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos.
The young person, who has no connection to the other person at the centre of previously published allegations, told BBC News they were contacted online anonymously by the male presenter.
They claimed they were put under pressure to meet, but never did. When the person hinted online they might name the presenter they were sent abusive, expletive-filled messages, the BBC said.
The young person told the broadcaster they had been scared by the power the presenter held and the threats in the messages had frightened them.
BBC News said it had contacted the presenter via his lawyer but had received no response to the allegations.
The new development comes after the unnamed BBC presenter was suspended amid an investigation by the corporation after allegations made in The Sun that he sent explicit pictures to a teenager.
Read More: Met Police asks BBC to pause presenter investigation as they 'continue assessment'
Scotland Yard has asked the BBC to halt its internal investigation into allegations a presenter paid a young person for explicit photos.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement today: "We have asked the BBC to pause its own investigation while we continue our assessment to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.
"The assessment is being led by detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command and follows a virtual meeting with representatives from the BBC on the morning of Monday, 10 July.
"There remains no police investigation at this time."
A timeline provided by the BBC suggests the complainant - a family member of the alleged victim - visited the BBC building to complain about the unnamed presenter on May 18.
On May 19, the complainant then contacted BBC Audience Services, which then forwarded the complaint onto their Corporate Investigations Team.
On June 6, the complainant was contacted, the BBC said, but the call 'did not connect'.
There were no more attempts to contact the complainant after June 6, though the corporation says the case "remained open throughout".
