Dan Wootton: MailOnline suspends GB News star amid investigation into sexual offence allegations

Dan Wootton has been suspended by the MailOnline amid an investigation into sexual offence allegations, it has been confirmed.

The GB News star has been a focus of various claims in recent months of allegedly paying large sums of money for sexually explicit videos using an online pseudonym during his time as editor of The Sun. The accusations were first raised by The Byline Times and shared by Wootton's ex-partner Alex Truby on Twitter.

Byline Times alleges that Wootton "hid behind fake online identities to trick and bribe scores of men into revealing compromising sexual material" over a 10-year period when he allegedly posed as showbiz agent Martin Branning.

Wootton has had a twice-weekly column with the MailOnline since 2021, but it has not been published since the accusations first emerged.

The scandal came just weeks after the BBC suspended star presenter Huw Edwards after he faced allegations of paying over £30,000 for sexual pictures from a vulnerable teenager. An investigation into the matter is still ongoing at the British broadcaster.

Here is everything you need to know about Dan Wootton's suspension from the MailOnline.

What has MailOnline said about the suspension of Dan Wootton?

DMG Media, the parent company of MailOnline, confirmed Dan Wootton would not be working them for the foreseeable future as they continue their investigation into the allegations.

In a statement, a spokesperson explained: "We are continuing to consider a series of allegations which Dan Wootton – who has written columns for MailOnline since 2021 as one of several outside freelance contributors – has strenuously denied. The allegations are obviously serious but also complex and historic and there is an independent investigation under way at the media group which employed him during the relevant period. In the meantime, his freelance column with MailOnline has been paused.”

Has Dan Wootton responded to the allegations?

The presenter is still yet to officially respond to the allegations, though he did address the GB News audience with a monologue last month. Wootton claimed he is victim of "a smear campaign" by "nefarious players with an axe to grind."

In his speech on July 18, which lasted more than six-minutes, Wootton wholeheartedly denies any claims made against him and said: "As a journalist I feel uncomfortable being the story... but I've always promised you that this show has no spin, and no bias, and no censorship, so I owe it to you to address this.

"I, like all fallible humans, have made errors of judgement in the past, but the criminal allegations being made against me are simply untrue."