In its own timeline of events, BBC News said the broadcaster sent the family a follow-up email about the claims the day after they were brought forward in May, but received no response. The company then tried calling the mother’s provided cell phone number almost a month later but it “didn’t connect.”
British media outlets have not named the accused presenter, but The Sun claims he is “well-known” and was taken off the air, leading to widespread speculation about his identity. BBC Director-General Tim Davie told staff “individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy” during an investigation, the Guardian reported, adding that the legal risk of libel likely outweighs the benefits of linking someone to the claims publicly.
5. That’s how many BBC presenters have come forward to deny their involvement: Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell and Nihal Arthanayake.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday told journalists at the NATO summit in Lithuania that the allegations against the unnamed BBC producer were “shocking and concerning,” Deadline reported.
Davie on Tuesday said the BBC accepts there are “lessons to be learned following this exercise” after the company confirmed it knew about the claims for months before the Sun article was published. The BBC said no more attempts to reach out were made but the case “remained open.” The broadcaster—which is publicly funded but independent from the government—was criticized in 2012 after news outlets reported BBC officials knew about serial sex abuse perpetrated by media personality Jimmy Savile and did little to investigate accusations over four decades. Harriet Harman, then deputy leader of the Labour Party, said the handling of the scandal “cast a stain” on the BBC.
