London: The BBC said that it was in touch with the Metropolitan Police over sexual misconduct allegations against a male presenter who has been suspended.
In a statement, the Corporation said that it is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts against the allegations that the presenter had paid a teenager 35,000 pounds for sexually explicit photos.
BBC officials are slated to meet the Metropolitan Police on Monday to discuss the matter.
The matter came to light after the Sun tabloid in a report on July 7 claimed that a woman had accused the presenter of paying her teen child for sexually explicit photographs.
Neither the Sun, nor the BBC have named the presenter.
In a new story, published by the Sun on Sunday evening, the tabloid claimed that the presenter made two “panicked calls” to the teenager following the July 7 report.
The presenter allegedly asked the young person “what have you done” and asked them to ring their mother to get her to “stop the investigation”, the paper said.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the BBC said it was working as fast as possible “to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”.
“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday (July 6) 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.”
It added that the corporation expected to be in a position to provide a further update on the process in the coming days.
In an earlier statement on July 7, the BBC had said it has processes in place to deal with allegations and part of this is “actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation”.
“If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop.
“If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided — including via newspapers — this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes,” added the BBC.
In an email to staff, BBC Director General Tim Davie said such allegations were taken “incredibly seriously” and described the situation as “complex”.
He added that the Corporation was working rapidly on ascertaining the facts and “to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care”.
(IANS)
