Presenters are a conduit for trust in the BBCpublished at 21:56 British Summer Time 9 July 2023

21:56 BST 9 July 2023

Lizo Mzimba
Culture correspondent

If the unnamed individual is, as the Sun says, a top BBC presenter, that will of course make matters all the more difficult for the corporation.

It relies on the trust it has with audiences for what it does. And its presenters are the conduit for so much of that trust.

If the allegations prove to be true, it will be a bitter blow for that particular link between the BBC and its audiences.

As we mentioned earlier, BBC director general Tim Davie will appear before the media on Tuesday to answer their questions following the release of the corporation's annual report.

These reports are an assessment of the BBC’s performance over the last 12 months.

Davie said in an email to staff today that the BBC took the allegations against the unnamed presenter "incredibly seriously".

A separate BBC statement said the corporation expects to be in a position to provide further updates on the situation in the coming days.

Our correspondent Charlotte Gallagher boils down what we know about this story in just over a minute.

Here's a summary of what we have learned about this story so far:

• The BBC has suspended an unnamed male presenter over allegations he paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos
• The Metropolitan Police has confirmed the BBC has made initial contact with the force over the claims
• But the Met says no formal allegation has been made and it requires additional information before it can make a decision about further steps
• The BBC's director general says the corporation first became aware of the allegations in May, adding that he is taking the situation "extremely seriously"
• Tim Davie also says new claims of "a different nature" were revealed on Thursday and the BBC is in contact with the family

• He has also condemned social media speculation about which presenter is involved, in a message sent to staff
• Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer spoke to the director general on Sunday about the "deeply concerning" claims and called for the BBC to be given "space" to investigate

The BBC will need to move fast to establish the factspublished at 19:51 British Summer Time 9 July 2023

19:51 BST 9 July 2023

Katie Razzall
Culture and media editor

The BBC today referred to this matter as a "complex and fast moving set of circumstances". It said it expects to have a further update in the coming days.

It does need to move fast. Speculation is rife and growing. Other BBC presenters have felt forced to deny their involvement.

In his email to the BBC's staff, director general Tim Davie said "I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent".

Reputationally, this has already been damaging for the BBC which has been accused of looking evasive and being slow to act.

Despite today's statement, the director general is still under pressure as he tries to steer the BBC through this crisis.

On Tuesday - in a coincidence of timing he could probably do without - Davie will launch the BBC's annual report and face the media. It's likely one story will dominate the coverage.

• Read more here

Many questions for the BBC remain unansweredpublished at 19:25 British Summer Time 9 July 2023

19:25 BST 9 July 2023

Katie Razzall
Culture and media editor

Image source, .

For an organisation that says it aims for transparency, its statement today felt inevitable after a weekend when the corporation was on the front pages of many newspapers.

But there are still many questions that need to be answered.

What exactly did the BBC do on 19 May after the complaint was made? What was the nature of that complaint? Was it clear at that point that potential criminality was involved?

Did they interview the presenter? Did they consider contacting the police at the time? Did they consider suspending the presenter then?

The BBC has confirmed it has now spoken to the family of the individual involved, but how many attempts were made to contact them after their original complaint?

Did the BBC consider taking the presenter off air at the time, while they were looking into the allegations?

The BBC has said its internal processes "proactively deal with such allegations" and it is important to state that we don't know the full facts. The presenter may be innocent.

These are claims made in a newspaper. We don't know if they are true.

• Read more here.

Political pressure may subside slightly for nowpublished at 19:01 British Summer Time 9 July 2023

19:01 BST 9 July 2023

Jonathan Blake
Political correspondent

Political pressure on the BBC had grown since the allegations against a presenter were first reported on Friday night.

Conservative MPs, including the chair of the culture select committee, had spoken out in frustration at the corporation's response - and Labour's Rachel Reeves said it needed to get its house in order.

Things came to a head this morning when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport called the allegations "deeply disturbing" and made clear, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer would be talking to the BBC's director general.

Frazer appears to be satisfied with assurances she was given and has said the BBC should be given space to investigate.

That, together with the BBC's suspension of a member of staff, may mean the pressure subsides to a degree for now.

But while the BBC is independent, it is publicly funded and its chair is appointed by the government - so politicians on all sides will be quick to criticise when it is seen to have fallen short.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

For anyone trying to get a sense of how this situation unfolded, here's a timeline of all the events so far:

• Friday 19 May: The young person's family complain to the BBC about one of its presenters, according to the Sun newspaper
• Thursday 6 July: Allegations "of a different nature" are put to the BBC, according to director general Tim Davie
• Friday 7 July: The Sun publishes claims that a BBC presenter paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos
• Saturday 8 July: The Sun on Sunday publishes more details of the presenter's alleged actions
• Sunday 9 July: The BBC confirms a presenter has been suspended and the corporation is in touch with police - with the Met confirming an "initial contact" has been received

We've just had a statement from the Metropolitan Police:

“The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter but no formal referral or allegation has been made.

“We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow.”

Dominic Casciani
Legal correspondent

Another area of legal jeopardy in cases like this is privacy, one of the most complex areas of law journalists grapple with today.

A central question that has bounced around newsrooms this weekend is whether the person they want to point a finger at has a "reasonable expectation" of privacy in relation to the facts of the story.

Since a major Supreme Court ruling in 2022, a right to privacy covers people who are under investigation by a law enforcement agency - meaning the stage before they have been formally charged with a crime and sent to the courts.

The rationale for that protection is that if the police drop the case, they would have suffered untold unjustifiable damage to their reputation by being identified in the media.

Not all claims made against people in the public eye lead to provable evidence of wrongdoing.

Sometimes a complainant has an ulterior motive or, sadly, is unwell.

That's not to suggest the allegations should be brushed to one side and not taken seriously. On the contrary. It becomes all the more important to work out the truth.

But if journalists are short of actual facts, the legal risks they face in implicating someone in wrongdoing are huge.

• You can read more from Dominic Casciani here.

Dominic Casciani
Legal correspondent, reporting from court

This is a complicated newsroom equation that criss-crosses between editorial ethics and the law.

Here's the problem: As of Sunday, the BBC star story is more questions than answers.

The Sun's coverage is somewhat coy about specifics.

It is not clear whether it has seen proof of the payments or the alleged photograph of the star in underwear. And this is where the law bites.

The courts have long recognised that it is in the public interest for journalists to unmask "the fraudulent and the scandalous", to quote one famous case, but if there is a lack of reportable evidence, the legal problems begin to build.

One of the main issues media organisations face is the law of defamation which protects an individual's reputation from the massive harm caused by lies.

It protects everyone - whether they are a high-profile BBC presenter or an entirely private individual.

Anyone speculating today on social media about the identity of the presenter should think very, very carefully about the consequences. They could be sued for the harm they cause and financially ruined.

• You can read more from Dominic Casciani here.

For anyone just joining our coverage, or looking for a catch-up, here's a quick summary:

• An unnamed male BBC presenter has been suspended over allegations he paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos
• It is understood the BBC has been in touch with police over the claims
• BBC director general Tim Davie has confirmed the corporation first became aware of the allegations in May, adding that he is taking the situation "extremely seriously"
• He also says new claims of "a different nature" were revealed on Thursday and the BBC is in contact with the family

• In an email to BBC staff, Davie also condemned social media speculation about which presenter is involved
• Some BBC presenters took to social media to deny they were the star in question, including Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine, Nicky Campbell and Gary Lineker
• Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer spoke to Davie on Sunday about the "deeply concerning" claims and called for the BBC to be given "space" to investigate
• Fresh allegations, published by the Sun, say the star was pictured in his underwear with the young person's mother telling the paper he appeared "ready for my child to perform for him"
• Conservative minister Victoria Atkins has urged people to consider the young person at the heart of the matter, who will likely be "feeling all sorts of emotions" in the wake of the story

Dominic Casciani
Legal correspondent

The allegations are fairly straightforward.

The presenter is said to have paid a young person an awful lot of money for sexualised pictures. The payments are said to have begun when the teenager was 17 - which is over the age of sexual consent.

But that's not the relevant law when it comes to allegedly indecent images.

The Protection of Children Act 1978 says that it is a crime to take, make, share and possess indecent images of people under 18.

The maximum sentence is 10 years.

A person under the age of 18 cannot give their consent to the images being taken.

If the mother's account to the Sun, external is true, you don't need to be a lawyer to see the potential for a prosecution.

These laws have been tightened over the years to protect young people aged 16 and 17 from sexual exploitation.

You can read more from Dominic Casciani here.

It's worth recapping for a momemt what happened yesterday, when several high-profile BBC presenters took to social media to deny they are the presenter alleged to have sent thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit photos.

Broadcaster Rylan Clark tweeted he was not the presenter, saying "that ain't me babe" and adding that he is filming in Italy for a BBC programme.

Separately BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine distanced himself from the Sun story, saying the allegations are not about him.

He tweeted: "Just to say I'm very much looking forward to hosting my radio show on Monday - whoever the 'BBC Presenter' in the news is, I have the same message for you as Rylan did earlier: it certainly ain't me."

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker did not mention the allegations specifically, but writing on Twitter later on Saturday evening he said: "Hate to disappoint the haters but it's not me."

Nicky Campbell tweeted that he has reported an anonymous Twitter account to the police over a post claiming he was the presenter.

"I think it's important to take a stand. There's just too many of these people on social media. Thanks for your support friends," he said.

With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on.

And like with any other organisation, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC press office for official statements.

Occasionally BBC journalists approach senior managers for unplanned interviews - known as "doorsteps" in the news business.

They also sometimes also get offered interviews with management - like this one with BBC Director General Tim Davie over the Gary Lineker row.

And when this happens, they know they'll be scrutinised within and outside the BBC over how well they hold their boss to account.

Following the BBC's statement and director general's internal email to staff, here's a quick summary of what we've learned:

• The male presenter in question has been suspended
• The BBC became aware of a complaint in May - Tim Davie's email said the BBC Investigations team have been "looking into this since it was raised and have been actively following up"
• New allegations "of a different nature" were put to the BBC on Thursday
• The BBC says it is in touch with "external authorities" over the matter
• BBC News understands the corporation has been in touch with police, in addition to its own enquiries
• Davie said the BBC is in contact with the family referenced in the media reports

It's understood the BBC has been in touch with the police in addition to their own enquiries.

Image source, PA Media

In a follow-up email sent to BBC staff, director general Tim Davie reiterates that the BBC is taking the allegations "incredibly seriously".

Later in the internal email, he adds: "By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex. I also want to be very clear that I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent.

"We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports. I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate."

Here's what the BBC statement says in full:

“The BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.

“This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps.

“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care.

“We have been clear that if - at any point - new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.

“The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.

“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.

“We expect to be in a position to provide a further update in the coming days as the process continues. The BBC Board will continue to be kept up to date.”

The BBC says the unnamed male presenter who is alleged to have paid thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit sexual images has been suspended.