The BBC suspends the presenter for purchasing “sexually explicit images” of a minor

The prestigious BBC is once again in the eye of the hurricane after publishing an exclusive new feature in the sharp pages of the tabloids. On Sunday, a public service broadcast was seen in the UK Had to suspend one of the bidders After the diary the sun You stated that the defendant had purchased “explicit sexual images” to a young man who was, at the time, 17 years old, who, in addition, was going to use the money to buy crack. explains the star of the series, whose identity has not been disclosed for legal reasons the sunYou could have committed a felony punishable by imprisonment.

The presenter was supposed to pay a total of 35 thousand pounds, or about 40 thousand euros, in exchange for obtaining pictures of sexual content, and to collect the tabloid newspaper, which quoted the mother of the anonymous young man. the sun He avoided identifying the bidder, claiming problems with British legislation, which has become increasingly strict about protecting privacy. For the time being, the BBC also preferred to conceal the name of the accused, despite the statements of glimpses of the accused’s status. Eamon Holmes. The famous journalist accused the company of prolonging the inevitable: “I’m not sure what that’s for, because I sure This name will appear in the next few days.”

the sun, who often pays for information, says the mother made it clear she did not want money to share her story, but went to the press because she believed the BBC legal department had not opened a serious investigation after reporting the facts at the public broadcaster’s request. . But, in a twist, the alleged victim’s attorney He threw the mother’s testimony on the floor. In a letter to the BBC, the 20-year-old paralegal confirmed he had sent a denial to the tabloid on Friday night that included “There was no truth to it.”

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing improper or illegal has occurred between our client and the BBC personality Accusations published in the newspaper the sun they are rubbishthe lawyer insists. The mother said she saw the BBC presenter on at least one occasion. “naked to panties” In the middle of a video call with his son. “My son told me they had run out of money and suddenly he had it. It is clear to me that the BBC did not speak to this man between our complaint on May 19 and the complaint in June because they thought it was too important,” the mother says on the pages. the sun. There were huge sums, hundreds or thousands of pounds at a time. He once sent £5,000 at a time. The money was for getting sexually explicit photos of my son.”

The BBC issued a statement announcing the suspension of the presenter and acknowledging that the entity “became aware of a complaint in May”. However, the charges collected in the sun He was “of a different nature”, which prompted a more solid investigation. “We never wanted an investigation. We just wanted the BBC to tell him to stop. First, the head of security gave us a number that didn’t exist,” the young man’s mother had turned it into the tabloid.

“The BBC takes any allegation seriously, and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations. This is a complex and rapidly evolving set of circumstances, and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to inform appropriate next steps,” the statement added. .

Several members of the government have spoken out to ask the BBC to act quickly, but also with caution. “We have to remember that there is a young man at the center of all of this who is going to have all kinds of feelings and maybe feel very, very upset, so we need to keep that person in our minds while we discuss this.” The Treasury Secretary said, Victoria Atkins.

Minister of Culture, Information and Sports, Lucy FraserHe said he had a conversation on Sunday with the Director-General of the BBC, Tim DaveyRegarding the accusations, he demanded that the institution “now have the necessary space to conduct its investigations, prove the facts, and take appropriate measures.” Davey was scheduled to appear, on Tuesday, in a briefing on the occasion of the publication of the annual report of the entity, but the crisis will monopolize the event.

The BBC has had to deal with a host of scandals in recent months. Former soccer player Gary Linekera charismatic sports show host, He was suspended in March for criticizing the anti-immigration policies of Rishi Sunak’s government, a decision that sparked employee revolt. A month later, it was the turn of the BBC’s chairman, Richard Sharpe, who was forced to resign for his role in granting a loan of nearly €1 million to Boris Johnson when he was still prime minister.

In addition, the largest ad-funded channel, ITV, has also been the subject of a scandal involving one of its biggest stars, Philip Schofield. The 61-year-old former host, one of Britain’s biggest TV personalities, quit in June after admitting he had an affair with a much younger man who worked on the same programme.