Claims made by the mother in the BBC presenter scandal are “rubbish”, a lawyer for the young person has reportedly said.
In a letter to the BBC, the lawyer casts doubt on The Sun’s story about the male presenter who has not been publicly named.
The letter says the young person sent a denial to the newspaper on Friday evening, saying there was “no truth to it”, according to the BBC.
However, the “inappropriate article” was still published, the lawyer told the corporation.
Read more: BBC presenter claims – live updates
The BBC quoted a spokesperson for The Sun as saying: “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.”
According to The Sun, which first broke the story on Saturday, the presenter requested images in 2020 when the young person was 17-years-old and made a series of payments over the years.
They allegedly paid more than £35,000, which the young person had reportedly used to fund an addiction to crack cocaine – which had “destroyed” their life.
It was also alleged the presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with them.
Family members of the young person said they made a complaint to the BBC on 19 May, but approached The Sun after becoming frustrated the presenter was still on air a month later.
While the paper has not revealed the name of the presenter, they have said he is paid a six-figure salary and is currently off-air.
Following the publication of allegations in the press, the presenter is understood to have contacted the young person involved, phoning them and asking, “what have you done?”
In an earlier statement, put out by the BBC on Sunday, the corporation confirmed they first received a complaint about the presenter in May.
They said they were taking the allegations “very seriously,” and had gone on to suspend the presenter after receiving new allegations of a different nature in addition to their own enquiries.
The BBC is understood to be meeting with the Metropolitan Police today after the corporation contacted them last week.
