TV channel spent £500,000 on bullying probe

S4C said the allegations made warranted an "independent and thorough fact-finding process"

Scandal-hit Welsh-language TV channel S4C spent more than £500,000 investigating allegations of a "bullying and toxic culture".

According to its annual report and accounts, the publicly-funded broadcaster spent the money on a "fact-finding exercise", headed by Cardiff firm Capital Law, and other legal advice.

Capital Law was brought in during May 2023 after "serious concerns" were raised by the Bectu union about the working culture at the channel.

S4C said it used the firm because it would enable staff "to feel safe when sharing their experiences".

It said £564,000 was taken from the channel’s reserves so programmes and strategic priorities "weren’t affected by the additional expenditure being incurred".

Among the claims given to the authors of the independent report was one from Bectu that said former S4C chief executive Sian Doyle created "a culture of fear".

In a statement, S4C said: "Given the nature of the complaints raised by Bectu regarding S4C’s working environment, the S4C authority was of the opinion that a completely independent and thorough fact-finding process must be carried out that would enable staff to feel safe when sharing their experiences.

"The costs declared in the annual report cover all the costs resulting from the process during the 2023-24 financial year, including the costs of legal advice in relation to the complex decisions that resulted from the evidence gathered."

The report also said S4C had seen its largest increase in streaming hours in the past year, up 31% in 2023-24, compared to the previous year.

On TV, its annual reach rose by 5% to more than 1.7 million viewers.