Questions BBC must answer over presenter accused of paying for explicit photos
The BBC “clearly has questions to answer” after one of its presenters was accused of paying a teenager for explicit photographs, a senior Conservative MP has said.
The young person’s mother said that while she complained to the BBC on 19 May, it was “obvious” to her that the corporation had not spoken to the man by the following month.
BBC star allegations ‘deeply concerning’ – live updates
The presenter is said to have first requested images in 2020 when the teenager was 17, and has allegedly made a series of payments since then.
The youth, who is now aged 20, used the money to fund a crack cocaine habit which “destroyed” their life, their mother has also claimed.
As the story leads many news websites including the BBC’s own, what are the questions it needs to answer?
• What did it do when the complaint was first made in May? Were standard HR protocols followed?
• Did it immediately try to contact the family? How many attempts were made to contact the family?
• What is the date when the presenter was first spoken to? Was the presenter spoken to after the initial complaint was made?
• Given there were concerns that the child’s life was in danger, was the BBC’s response satisfactory?
• Does it intend to investigate whether payments to the child continued after the family first contacted the BBC?
• Will it look into whether the presenter contacted the child from work, or during working hours?
• Is the licence fee payer contributing to the presenter’s mobile phone costs?
Read more:
Everything we know about BBC presenter claims
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BBC needs to ‘get a grip’ says Rachel Reeves
Mother’s plea to BBC bosses
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, the young person’s mother said: “We just wanted the BBC to tell him to stop.”
Her child told her they had received a payment of £1,000 in June, the mother said.
Now 20, her child has used the man’s money to fuel a serious drug problem, she said.
She added: “Initially the security boss gave us a number that didn’t exist.”
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport committee, said she was concerned that the corporation had taken a “very long time” to investigate the claims.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said the scandal was “deeply concerning”.
Asked about an alleged delay in investigating the complaint, Ms Reeves told Sky News: “I think that’s the concerning thing, that someone makes a complaint – a very serious complaint – and then puts on the telly the next night and they’re still there.
“And that’s not good enough.”
BBC takes allegations ‘very seriously’
A BBC spokesperson said: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them.
“As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this. That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation.”
They added: “If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop.
“If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.”
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’
Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.
In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade
Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.
“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.
But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough
“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”
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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”
Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November
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