BBC Presenter Scandal: UK PM Says Allegations Are “Shocking And Concerning”
deadline.comPrime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was “shocked and concerned” by recent allegations that a top BBC presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexual images.
Speaking to journalists as he traveled to the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunak said he didn’t know the identity of the accused presenter but the broadcaster had reassured him that its investigation into the case would be swift. “They were shocking and concerning allegations,” he said. “The culture secretary spoke to the director general on Sunday and is reassured the process they are taking is rigorous and will be swift.
We’ve had those reassurances and that’s the right thing to do.” The BBC has been engulfed by reports, which first appeared in The Sun, that one of its top presenters paid a teenager more than £35,000 ($45,000) in return for explicit pictures.
It said the exchanges started in 2020 when the teenager was aged 17. The Sun said it had been contacted by the teenager’s mother, who said she did not want payment for telling her story.
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