BBC presenter scandal: Metropolitan Police issues update after virtual meeting with broadcaster

The Metropolitan Police have issued a statement regarding the BBC presenter scandal following a virtual meeting with the broadcaster. The BBC is currently investigating claims a well-known member of its staff paid a teenager for sexually explicit pictures.

A police statement said: “Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met with representatives from the BBC on the morning of Monday, 10 July. The meeting took place virtually.

“They are assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.

“There is no investigation at this time.”

The Sun newspaper originally reported the allegations, which claimed the presenter allegedly paid more than £35,000 to the teenager in exchange for pictures. The mum of the teenager said she launched a complaint to the BBC on May 19 but the male presenter stayed ‘on air’.

The mum also alleged that the money helped sustain her child’s crack cocaine addiction. The person is said to have started receiving payments from the presenter when they were 17-years-old.

In a statement on Sunday, the BBC said the presenter had been suspended, with the corporation receiving “new allegations of a different nature” in addition to their own investigations.

The same day, The Sun released another report claiming the presenter made ‘two panicked calls’ to the young person and demanded the mum stop the investigation against them.