Pressure rises on BBC over presenter’s alleged explicit images

Pressure is rising on the BBC as it deals with allegations that an unidentified presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images.

On Sunday the corporation said it had been in touch with police and confirmed a male member of staff had been suspended.

The Sun reported the presenter at the centre of the allegations made “panicked” calls to the young person last week.

The presenter allegedly asked, “What have you done?”, the newspaper reported.

It claimed he asked the young person to ring their mother to get her to “stop the investigation”.

The BBC has said it had been investigating a complaint since May when it was first made aware, and that new allegations of a “different nature” were brought to it on Thursday.

As well as being in touch with the police, the corporation is conducting its own inquiries and talking to the young person’s family.

“The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Sunday evening.

“We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow.”

The suspension of the presenter was announced after British Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer had an urgent phone call with the BBC's director general Tim Davie on Sunday.

Ms Frazer said Mr Davie offered her assurances his team was "investigating swiftly and sensitively".

Their conversation came after a woman alleged an unidentified BBC TV star started sending money to her child, who was 17 at the time, in exchange for sexual pictures.

The identity and gender of the youngster, now 20, have not been revealed.

The mother, whose claims first surfaced in The Sun, said the cash payments totalled £35,000 ($44,935).

In the latest claim, the mother said she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear”.

The woman said she was told it was “a picture from some kind of video call”.

Ms Frazer called the allegations "deeply concerning".

“He has assured me the BBC are investigating swiftly and sensitively," she said after her conversation with Mr Davie.

“Given the nature of the allegations it is important the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action. I will be kept updated.”

In a note sent to staff, Mr Davie said his team had made contact with the family of the youngster.

Earlier, Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, urged the BBC to act quickly to deal with the claims.

“These are very, very serious allegations and the BBC have said they have processes in place,” Ms Atkins told Sky News.

“But as public attention and concern grows, the BBC is going to have to act very swiftly to deal with these allegations and to set out what they are doing to investigate them.”

Several BBC stars have publicly had stated they are not the presenter at the centre of the allegations.

Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine and Nicky Campbell all distanced themselves from the issue.

Mr Davie said he was “wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent”.

"By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex," he wrote in a note sent to staff.

“We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports.

"I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate.”

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