The BBC has suspended one of its "top presenters" following an allegation that this individual gave money to a teenager in exchange for sexually explicit photographs.
This information was first published by The Sun on July 7.
Per the outlet:
A TOP BBC star is off air while allegations he paid a teenager for sexual pictures are being investigated. The well-known presenter is accused of giving the teen more than £35,000 [$45,000] since they were 17 in return for sordid images. The alleged recipient’s mother said they had used the cash to fund a crack habit.
At the time of this writing, neither the BBC presenter nor the teenager has been identified.
It turns out that the young person's family actually informed the BBC of the situation back on May 19. But, the BBC allowed the individual to continue working as a presenter until just recently.
The suspension was issued after the young person's mother approached The Sun on July 7 and July 8.
Then, on July 9 - after The Sun published its reports - the BBC finally decided to suspend the presenter and to get the police involved.
The BBC has since put out a statement on the matter, saying:
The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations. This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps. It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.
The BBC goes on to claim that, although it was notified of the situation in May, "new allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature."
The BBC writes, "We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date."
The BBC is currently facing significant pressure - particularly pressure from the government - to get to the bottom of this situation.
It ought to be remembered that the BBC is a publicly funded national broadcaster.
The BBC reports that:
The Metropolitan Police said the BBC has made contact over the claims but no formal allegation has been made. It's understood that a meeting between the force and the BBC is taking place today [i.e. Monday, July 10].
While the investigation continues, speculation remains about just who the suspended BBC presenter is.
Many of the BBC's top personalities have come forward to clear their names.
