A crisis at the BBC over the conduct of senior staff members intensified on Tuesday with reports that a second person has come forward with allegations that an unnamed male staff member sent angry and abusive messages to a man through a dating app.
The BBC reported that the young man had been threatened with “abusive, slanderous messages” following staff’s failed attempts to meet the man and the man’s suggestion of possibly being publicly named.
The same staff were accused of paying tens of thousands of pounds to other young men in exchange for sexually explicit photographs. The BBC said it had paused its investigation into those allegations at the request of the Metropolitan Police, which is also looking into the matter.
Accusations piled up, but with so many questions still unanswered, the BBC seemed under siege. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is on his way to a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, said reports of the staff payments were “shocking and concerning” and called for a swift, vigorous investigation.
The director general of the BBC, Tim Davey, faced mounting pressure to explain why the corporation waited seven weeks after lodging an initial complaint about the broadcaster’s conduct before confronting him or taking other action. On Sunday, the BBC said staff had been suspended and the police had been called.
Mr Davey said the BBC took seriously the initial allegations made by the teenager’s mother, who was said to have been paid for the candid photographs, although there were questions about whether any criminal conduct had taken place.
But the complaints were not brought to his attention or other top BBC managers until late last week, he said, when reported by London tabloid The Sun. He said that he has not yet spoken to the staff.
The new allegation was reported by the BBC’s own correspondent on Tuesday afternoon. He said he checked the messages on the man’s phone and verified they were from a staff member’s phone. The BBC said the staffer or his lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Davy admits it has already repeatedly found itself in the political cross-hairs over the actions and statements of its on-air personalities.
“These are clearly damaging to the BBC,” Mr. Davey said. “It’s not a good situation.”
The BBC described suspended staff as equivalent to a news anchor, news program presenter or other broadcast personality. Although the BBC has not revealed the man’s identity, that hasn’t stopped rampant speculation online, which has forced other BBC figures to take to social media to deny they are the target of the allegations.
Among the questions swirling around the BBC is the credibility of The Sun’s report that staff members paid the teenager more than £35,000, or about $45,000, over a period of several years, starting when the man was 17.
Under British law, the age of consent is 16, but it is an offense to take, make, share or possess indecent images of anyone under 18.
On Monday, a lawyer for the teenager said in a letter to the broadcaster that the allegations in The Sun were “rubbish” and indicated a rift between the teenager and the teenager’s parents, the BBC reported.
A lawyer for the teenager told the broadcaster that “nothing inappropriate or illegal took place between our client and the BBC personality”. Its reporters did not identify the attorney, and Mr. Davey said Tuesday that he did not know whether staff were paying legal fees for the young man.
The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch, stood by its story, accusing the BBC of implying it was the fault of parents of teenagers who did not understand how long the process of handling complaints can be.
“His complaint has not been acted upon by the BBC,” a spokesman for The Sun said on Monday. “We have seen evidence to support their concerns. Now the BBC needs to investigate properly.
