BBC director-general Tim Davie has directly addressed the controversy swirling around the corporation over claims a presenter paid thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit photographs – and revealed the BBC has paused its own investigation.
Speaking at the annual report press briefing today, Mr Davie said: “It’s important to give you an update on the latest developments.
“This is clearly a complex and difficult situation where we need to manage a number of factors – properly responding to serious allegations, sensitively managing duty of care issues, appropriately respecting the privacy of individuals and justified public interest.
“We do believe we are navigating these responsibly and judicially but we recognise it’s not easy to do so.
Mr Davie added: “As you know, the BBC Corporate Investigations Team had a meeting with the police in relation to the information provided to the BBC by the Sun newspaper on Thursday July 6.
“As a result of this the BBC has been asked to pause its own investigation into the allegations while they scope future work. We will pass any material that we have to them.
“We know that questions have been asked how this case was initially managed and the timeline of events, so today we have published an update that sets out key dates and further detail.
“The BBC has processes and protocols for receiving information and managing allegations when they are made.
He stressed: “We always take these matters seriously and seek to manage them with care.
“The events of recent days have shown how complex and challenging these kinds of cases can be and how vital it is they are handled with the upmost diligence.
“That is why it is important that we ensure these processes are robust and working appropriately.
“Of course there will be lessons to be learnt, and how processes could be improved.
“Immediately I have asked that we assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation.
“We will take time to properly review the current protocols and procedures to ensure they remain sufficient based on anything we learn from this case.
“This work will be led by our chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva who will report to the BBC board.”
