The teenager at the centre of the BBC presenter scandal has said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed star accused of paying them £35,000 for sexually explicit images.
In another day of extraordinary drama, they said the allegations published in The Sun, were “rubbish”, in a letter issued by their lawyer to the broadcaster.
The claim comes hours after the Metropolitan Police confirmed “there is no investigation at this time” following a weekend of online speculation over the identity of the male star, believed to be a household name.
It’s understood BBC staff are furious at the broadcaster’s handling of the scandal, which prompted several of the corporation’s top talent to rush to declare their innocence and that the presenter, who was suspended on Sunday, is not minded to reveal their identity until the outcome of any police probe.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command met BBC bosses on Monday to discuss the allegations and decide if any laws had been broken.
“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.”
In a letter reported by BBC News At Six, the young person said via a lawyer: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are ‘rubbish’.”
A spokesperson for The Sun said: “We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.
“Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”
Following the lawyer statement the parents of the 20-year-old told The Sun they stood by their claims.
They told the newspaper: “It is sad but we stand by our account and we hope they get the help they need.”
Adding: “We did this to help – and the presenter has got into their head. How did they afford a lawyer? We are so sad.”
Their step-father added that they were “disappointed” the young person had made a statement via their lawyer. “It’s not true,” he added.
It follows claims in The Sun on Friday that the presenter began paying for sexually explicit images from an unnamed teenager, now aged 20, when they were 17.
New allegations then emerged on Sunday night that the BBC presenter had made panicked calls to the complainant asking “What have you done?”. It has also been claimed he asked them to get their mother to “stop the investigation”.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said Mr Davie assured her the BBC is investigating the allegations
The mother of the youngster alleged that the presenter had paid over £35,000 in the past three years for sexual pictures, with her child using the payments to fund a crack cocaine habit.
The BBC star who has not been named, has been suspended while the corporation said it was working as quickly as possible to establish the facts.
Although the age of consent for sexual activity in England and Wales is 16 years old, the law on indecent images treats all under-18s as children, meaning the allegations could lead to a criminal offence if proven.
Director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, has said that the corporation takes “all such allegations incredibly seriously”, while a spokesperson said that “robust internal processes” were in place to deal with such matters.
Nicky Campbell described it as a ‘distressing weekend’ due to baseless social media speculation
