Chaos at BBC as stars vent fury over ‘slow response’ to presenter scandal ahead of director general’s grilling tomorrow
CHAOS is said to be unfolding at BBC as stars vent their fury over the broadcaster’s response to the sexual picture scandal.
It has been three days since The Sun exclusively revealed a presenter had allegedly paid a youngster more than £35,000, while they sent him sordid images.
The BBC has since been slammed by the cop who exposed paedophile BBC star Jimmy Savile, with calls for the broadcaster to name the presenter.
Piers Morgan also blasted BBC for its “ridiculous” coverage of the presenter to date.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk then this morning said the BBC needs to “get its house in order“.
Now other broadcasting stars are said to be calling out how “slow” the corporation is dealing with the situation.
One BBC presenter told the Times: “On the face of it, this looks horrendous — both for the individual and the institution.”
While another said: “Whatever the truth of it is, none of us trust managers to investigate properly.
“Colleagues are saying managers have been too slow in dealing with this despite it perhaps being a criminal matter.”
It comes as the presenter is said to be under “pressure” to reveal his identity as colleagues cleared their schedules.
Other top BBC presenters have been forced to publically deny being the accused star.
Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine at the weekend denied they’re the top BBC star who’s at the centre of the allegations.
BBC Radio 5 Live host Nicky Campbell this morning said he is taking legal advice after he was falsely accused of being the presenter.
Campbell said: “It was a distressing weekend, I can’t deny it, for me and others falsely named.
“Today I’m having further conversations with the police in terms of malicious communication, and with lawyers in terms of defamation.”
Met Police also today confirmed it had met with Beeb bosses over the scandal – and how it planned to continue probing the claims.
It comes as Beeb boss Tim Davie is set to front up to media tomorrow – but not over the allegations.
The Director General was expected to host a scheduled briefing following the release of its annual report.
However, the scandal is now set to dominate the event.
Latest on BBC sex probe:
- BBC star who ‘paid teen for sex pics’ could face years in prison
- Teen’s mum claims star stripped to his pants for call
- 8 questions BBC refused to answer about star taken off air
- Star ‘partied with BBC bosses AFTER complaint made’
- Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark & Jeremy Vine all deny being the star
- The presenter allegedly gave the teen £35k for sordid images
- Mum blames BBC man for giving money for drugs to her teen
- Piers Morgan blasts ‘ridiculous’ BBC coverage
- BBC ‘is getting calls from MORE members of public about the behaviour of the presenter‘
- A cop who exposed paedophile BBC star Jimmy Savile said the broadcaster MUST name the presenter
Davie yesterday said he was taking the allegations “incredibly seriously”, before the accused star was suspended.
The BBC put out a statement, which read: “The BBC takes 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.
“We have been clear that if – at any point – new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.
“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.
“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. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date.”