A disaster on the BBC over the conduct of a senior workers member deepened on Tuesday with a report {that a} second individual had come ahead with allegations that the unnamed male workers member had despatched offended and abusive messages to the individual by way of a relationship app.
The BBC reported that the younger individual, whom it didn’t determine, felt threatened by “abusive, expletive-filled messages,” which adopted unsuccessful efforts by the workers member to fulfill with this individual and the individual’s subsequent suggestion about presumably publicly naming him.
The similar workers member confronted allegations of paying tens of hundreds of kilos to a distinct younger individual in trade for sexually specific images. The BBC mentioned it had paused its investigation into these accusations on the request of the Metropolitan Police, which was additionally trying into the matter.
With the allegations piling up, however with many questions nonetheless unanswered, the BBC gave the impression to be beneath siege. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on his approach to a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, mentioned the reviews of funds by the workers member had been “shocking and concerning” and referred to as for a swift, vigorous investigation.
The BBC’s director normal, Tim Davie, additionally confronted rising stress to elucidate why the company had waited seven weeks after the preliminary grievance was lodged in May in regards to the broadcaster’s conduct earlier than confronting him or taking different motion. On Sunday, the BBC mentioned it had suspended the workers member and referred to as within the police.
Mr. Davie mentioned the preliminary allegations, made by the mom of {the teenager} mentioned to have been paid for specific images, had been taken very severely by the BBC, although there was a query about whether or not there had been any felony conduct.
But the complaints weren’t relayed to him or different high BBC managers till late final week, he mentioned, after they had been about to be reported by a London tabloid, The Sun. He mentioned he had not but spoken to the workers member.
The new allegation was reported by the BBC’s personal reporters on Tuesday afternoon. They mentioned they’d reviewed the messages on the individual’s telephone and verified that they got here from a telephone belonging to the workers member. The BBC mentioned it had not been in a position to attain the workers member or his lawyer for a remark.
Mr. Davie acknowledged that the lurid allegations had tarnished the popularity of Britain’s public broadcaster, which has already discovered itself repeatedly within the political cross-hairs over the actions and statements of its on-air personalities.
“These are clearly damaging to the BBC,” Mr. Davie mentioned in an interview with BBC Radio 4. “It’s not a good situation.”
The BBC described the suspended workers member because the equal of a news anchor, the host of a news present or different on-air persona. Although the BBC has not disclosed the individual’s id, that has not stopped rampant hypothesis on-line, which has pressured different BBC figures to take to social media to disclaim that they had been the goal of the allegations.
Among the questions swirling across the BBC are the reliability of The Sun’s report that the workers member paid {the teenager} greater than £35,000, or nearly $45,000, for specific pictures over a interval of a number of years that started when the individual was 17.
Under British legislation, the age of consent is 16, however it’s a crime to take, make, share or possess indecent pictures of anybody beneath 18.
On Monday, the BBC reported {that a} lawyer for {the teenager} mentioned in a letter to the broadcaster that the allegations in The Sun had been “rubbish,” suggesting there was a rift between {the teenager} and {the teenager}’s mother and father.
The lawyer for {the teenager} mentioned that “nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality,” in line with the broadcaster. Its reporters didn’t determine the lawyer, and Mr. Davie mentioned on Tuesday that he didn’t know if the workers member was paying the authorized charges for the younger individual.
The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has stood by its story, accusing the BBC of suggesting that it was the fault of {the teenager}’s mother and father for not understanding how prolonged the method of coping with complaints may very well be.
“Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC,” a spokeswoman for The Sun mentioned on Monday. “We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”
Source: www.nytimes.com