A nude image scandal engulfing British broadcaster the BBC and one in all its excessive profile presenters has grown after one other younger individual claimed they had been contacted on-line by the star and “felt threatened” after they refused to satisfy up.
The brand new allegations come following earlier claims a teenager obtained hundreds of kilos to ship the star sexual photos.
However in that first case, the now 20-year-old has stated the claims – made by the individual’s household – had been “garbage”.
Within the UK, the age of consent is 16 years previous.
Nevertheless, in England and Wales any distribution of sexual photos of somebody below the age of 18 is against the law.
The cash, the household stated, was then used to fund a drug behavior.
“With out the cash, my accomplice’s little one would haven’t any medicine,” the individual’s stepfather advised The Solar.
Younger individual says claims are ‘garbage’
The household approached the BBC in Might with the allegations.
However they claimed the presenter remained on air till The Solar approached the broadcaster with the allegations final week.
On Sunday, the BBC suspended the family title and commenced an investigation.
Nobody has been charged and there’s at the moment no prison investigation however London’s Metropolitan Police is seeing if there are grounds for one.
The star has not recognized themselves and has issued no assertion on the matter.
The UK has strict privateness and defamation legal guidelines, which has made the media more and more cautious of unveiling an individual’s id earlier than they’re formally below investigation or arrest.
On Monday, UK time, the BBC stated it had obtained a letter from the individual’s legal professionals saying “nothing inappropriate or illegal has taken place”.
“The allegations reported in The Solar newspaper are garbage,” the letter stated.
Nevertheless, the household has stood by its claims.
The authorized letter claimed the individual was not contacted by The Solar previous to the story’s publication.
In an announcement, The Solar stated it had seen proof to again up the claims from “two very involved mother and father”.
“It’s now for the BBC to correctly examine.”
On Tuesday, BBC Information reported {that a} second younger individual had come ahead accusing the identical presenter of sending “abusive and menacing” messages.
The individual, of their early twenties, has no connection to the primary individual.
They stated the presenter had messaged them on a courting app and requested them to satisfy up however they by no means did.
They recognised the presenter and, the BBC reported, “hinted they could title” them which led to a variety of “abusive expletive crammed messages”.
“The younger individual stated that they had been scared by the ability the presenter held,” BBC Information reported.
“They stated the threats made within the messages … had frightened them, and so they stay scared.” The BBC reported they “felt threatened”.
The broadcaster has stated it has seen the messages and confirmed they got here from a cellphone which belonged to the star.
The presenter has not commented.
Questions stay over what — if any — relationship there was between the presenter and the teenager who the household claims was in communication with the star.
And whether or not the BBC correctly investigated the allegations when the household approached the broadcaster in Might.
The Metropolitan Police has now advised the BBC to pause its inner investigation whereas its makes an attempt to determine if against the law has been dedicated.
One other police drive has confirmed it was contacted in April however “no criminality was recognized”. It’s now working with the Metropolitan Police.
Talking on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, the BBC director common Tim Davie stated the scandal was “clearly damaging” to the broadcaster.
He defended the BBC’s dealing with of the difficulty and stated the allegations had been instantly taken severely however conceded there was a query as as to if it raised “crimson flags fast sufficient”.
In the meantime, there are requires the presenter to voluntarily title themselves.
Conservative MP Damian Collins, who used to take a seat on a authorities committee that examined the BBC, stated the star’s anonymity won’t be “sustainable” in the event that they had been off air for a protracted interval and that absence was seen by viewers.
With AFP
