BBC suspends staff member after explicit photo claims about unnamed presenter

The Culture Secretary has been told the BBC is investigating claims one of its stars paid a teen for explicit photos, ITV News' Cari Davies reports

The BBC has suspended the unnamed presenter who is alleged to have paid a teenager for sexually explicit images.

In a statement, the BBC said they take "any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.

“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC 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.

The Met Police confirmed they had been contacted about the allegations by the BBC but "no formal referral or allegation has been made."

The statement said they had received a complaint in May and new allegations "of a different nature" were sent to them on Thursday.

They added: "We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.

"We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues."

In a note sent to staff, BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie said: "In addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols."He also condemned the "unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent."In the note, Mr Davie said the BBC was 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."Neither the individual or the teenager, who was said to be 17 when the payments began have been identified since The Sun first reported the story on Friday.The young person’s mother told the paper she saw a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone, in which she alleged he was the BBC staff member was in his underwear.

She claimed she was told it was "a picture from some kind of video call".

The Sun claimed payments were made over the space of three years, and the teenager’s family complained to the BBC on May 19.

ITV News understands the presenter is not scheduled to be on air in the coming days.

Earlier on Sunday the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer had spoken to BBC director-general Tim Davie about the "deeply concerning" allegations about an unnamed presenter.

Senior officials have told the broadcaster that the allegations that an unnamed BBC star paid a teenager more than £35,000 in exchange for sexual images must be investigated "urgently and sensitively".

In a tweet after a phone call with BBC director-general Tim Davie on Sunday, Lucy Frazer said: “I have spoken to BBC Director General Tim Davie about the deeply concerning allegations involving one of its presenters.

“He has assured me the BBC are investigating swiftly and sensitively.

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

Questions are now being asked over whether the broadcaster has handled the family's complaint appropriately.

On Saturday, amid speculation on social media, a number of BBC stars tweeted to say they were not the presenter at the centre of The Sun story.

Rylan Clark tweeted: "Not sure why my name’s floating about but re that story in the Sun – that ain’t me babe. I’m currently filming a show in Italy for the BBC, so take my name out ya mouths."

Jeremy Vine tweeted: "Just to say I’m very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday — whoever the ‘BBC Presenter’ in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain’t me."

Gary Lineker tweeted: "Hate to disappoint the haters but it’s not me."

Nicky Campbell appeared to suggest he had contacted police about being mentioned in connection with the story.

He tweeted a screenshot which featured the Metropolitan Police logo and the words: "Thank you for contacting the Metropolitan Police Service to report your crime."

In his tweet, he wrote: "I think it’s important to take a stand. There’s just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends."

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