BBC star at centre of allegations 'extremely angry,' fellow broadcaster Jon Sopel says

There are repeated calls for the unnamed BBC presenter to identify himself, ITV News' Leyla Hayes and Rebecca Barry report

The BBC star at the centre of the explicit photo scandal is "extremely angry" over the allegations emerging in The Sun newspaper, according to a former colleague.

"It is fair to say that the presenter at the heart of this is also extremely angry over a lot of The Sun coverage and is convinced they're trying to dig and find new dirt to harm this particular person's reputation," ex-BBC journalist Jon Sopel told The News Agents podcast.

It comes as The Sun reports on fresh claims that a top BBC presenter paid two young people for sexually explicit photos.

"The person at the centre of this - you can't imagine what a maelstrom it must be - is getting some support from across the world of broadcast but from outside that as well," Sopel said on The News Agents.

The BBC has faced scrutiny overs its handling of the allegations against the unnamed presenter in recent days.

But the onus is "now on The Sun to show us, or shut up" after the paper published a series of allegations against the presenter, Sopel added, after the Sun's account was "rubbished" by the young person at the centre of the initial article.

On Tuesday, it was claimed the unnamed onscreen BBC talent broke Covid lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old in February 2021, according to The Sun's latest reporting.

The newspaper claimed it had seen messages which suggest the presenter travelled to see the young person in February 2021, after meeting them on a dating website the previous November.

On Wednesday, Jeremy Vine raised concerns over safety in relation to other broadcasters being falsely accused as he joined the growing chorus of voices encouraging the presenter to publicly identify himself.

On his Channel 5 show, Vine said he went to see a Bruce Springsteen concert at the weekend and his wife asked if he would be safe.

"She gave me a baseball cap, and said 'you better wear this'," Vine, who also fronts a show on BBC Radio 2, told viewers.

Asked again if the presenter should name himself, he replied: "I think it's better for him if he does."

Piers Morgan has also called for the presenter to come forward, "for the good of his colleagues, the BBC and himself".

Speaking on TalkTV, he said: “It’s only a matter of time before he loses agency in the situation (and) somebody blurts out in parliament, or on a less responsible network.

“For the good of his colleagues, the BBC, himself and his reputation, it is surely time for that presenter to reveal his identity, and vow to clear his name and defend himself if that’s what he can do.”

Government ministers are also being pushed on the topic.

Victoria Atkins was asked by Sky News on Wednesday whether the BBC presenter should identify himself.

The Treasury minister said the situation had been exacerbated by the use of social media to name people suspected of involvement: "There is this real problem, that I think we as a society have to face, as to the impact on innocent people when allegations of this sort are made and people try to work out who is at the centre of the allegations."

She continued: "I’m not going to comment on an individual, the duties or responsibilities of them to name themselves."

But Ms Atkins said there was a role for social media firms “to see what they are doing and checking on their platforms”.

And she added that MPs should be "very careful" about using parliamentary privilege to identify the presenter, saying they had to remember the "huge responsibility" they have.

Publicist and strategist Mark Borkowski has said the presenter could not carry on without identifying himself publicly for much longer.

He told Times Radio: “We’ve got a situation where it’s an ongoing car crash and the BBC is so glacial about how they’re dealing with this, because this is a 21st Century problem."

South Wales Police met with representatives of the BBC and Metropolitan Police on Monday to share information relating to the "welfare of an adult", ITV News understands.

In a statement, the force said it received information in April, and that "no criminality was identified" initially.

However, the force said it has since met with the Met and the BBC.

The statement, which came out on Tuesday night, continued: "As a result of recent developments, further inquiries are ongoing to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence."

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