BBC Director General Admits Complaints Process Could Be Improved As Probe Into Presenter Sex Pics Scandal Is Paused
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BBC Director General Tim Davie has admitted that complaints procedures could be improved amid questions over how the UK broadcaster responded to allegations that one of its top presenters paid a young person for sexual images.
Speaking to media as the BBC published its annual report on Tuesday, Davie said he has launched a review of processes, including a focus on how complaints are red-flagged to senior managers.
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“There’s clearly going to be learnings,” Davie said. “I have asked that we assess how some complaints are red-flagged up the organization.” Leigh Tavaziva, BBC Chief Operating Officer, will lead the review.
The BBC said today that its investigation into the unnamed presenter has been paused at the request of the Metropolitan Police, which is currently assessing evidence before determining whether to launch its own inquiry.
Davie said he had not spoken to the star in question. He said the BBC had not asked to see the presenter’s phone and this was now a matter for police. Davie would not comment on whether the presenter had offered to resign.
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The BBC set out a detailed timeline (copied below) of how it responded to a complaint from the family of a young person who has allegedly received payments of more than £35,000 from a top BBC presenter in exchange for explicit images.
The timeline reveals that the BBC made two attempts to contact the family after their initial complaint on May 19 but did not receive a response. This appears to contradict the family’s version of events, with the young person’s stepfather telling The Sun today that they spoke to the BBC for an hour in May.
Davie said the allegations in the original complaint were “very serious,” but the BBC’s investigation team did not question the presenter concerned until last week.
Asked by Deadline why it took so long to contact the presenter, Davie said: “I think it’s right and fair-minded that they [investigators] should make contact with the individual who made that initial allegation to audience services, get some verification and talk to that person and understand exactly what they’re dealing with before they raise that with an individual [presenter].”
Davie said he and the BBC’s executive team were only told about the initial complaint last week. He said the investigations team has handled 250 cases in the past six months and not all get escalated.
Davie’s comments come amid claims and counterclaims about the BBC’s response to the allegations, as well the veracity of the allegations themselves.
At the center of the story is a family apparently riven by trauma. A mother, desperate for the welfare of her child, has told The Sun how alleged payments for explicit images are fueling their drug use.
The young person, now 20, has trashed the account of his family, telling BBC News through a lawyer on Monday that there was no truth to the claims and nothing unlawful had taken place.
The family stand by their claims and say they have seen evidence of their child’s exchanges with the unnamed presenter. The Sun has also said it stands by its reporting.
Asked if the scandal is damaging trust in the BBC, Davie said: “Any affair of this nature is serious in terms of the BBC’s reputation. Trust is absolutely fundamental to the BBC. It is too early to say how this impacts the BBC’s reputation in terms of trust.”
BBC timeline in full:
On 18 May, the complainant (a family member) attended a BBC building, where they sought to make a complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter.
On 19 May, the complainant contacted BBC Audience Services; the details of this contact were referred to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team.
On 19 May, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team assessed the information contained in the complaint provided from Audience Services. The assessment made was that on the basis of the information provided it did not include an allegation of criminality, but nonetheless merited further investigation.
On 19 May, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team emailed the complainant stating how seriously the BBC takes the issue and seeking additional information to verify the claims being made; there was no response to this contact.
On 19 May, checks were also made to verify the identity of the complainant. This is a standard procedure to confirm that the complainant is the person they say they are.
On 6 June, having received no response to the email referenced above, a phone call was made to the mobile number provided by the complainant by the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team; this call did not connect.
Following these attempts to make contact with the complainant, the Corporate Investigations Team were due to return to the matter in the coming weeks. No additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after 6 June, however the case remained open throughout.
On 6 July, The Sun newspaper informed the BBC via the Corporate Press Office of allegations concerning a BBC presenter; it became clear that the source of the claims was from the same family as approached the BBC on 18 and 19 May. This was the first time that the Director-General or any executive directors at the BBC were aware of the case.
The claims made by The Sun contained new allegations, that were different to the matters being considered by BBC Corporate Investigations.
On 6 July, the BBC initiated an incident management group to lead the response to this case, involving senior BBC executives including the Director-General. The Acting Chairman was updated, and the Board was regularly updated in the coming days.
On 6 July, a senior manager held the first conversation on this matter with the presenter concerned, to make him aware of the claims being outlined by The Sun. It was agreed that the presenter would not be on air while this matter was being considered.
On 7 July, following The Sun’s contact, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations team contacted the complainant again, who was in touch with the BBC’s investigators.
On 7 July, the BBC’s Serious Case Management Framework (SCMF) was initiated and the investigation being undertaken by the Corporate Investigations Team was brought into the SCMF, which is chaired by a Human Resources Director.
On 7 July the BBC also made contact with the Police with regard to this matter.
On 8 July and on 9 July the complainant sent the BBC some materials related to the complaint.
On 9 July issued an update to staff and the media; the BBC also confirmed that it had suspended the presenter.
On 10 July the BBC met with the Police, to report the matter and discuss how to progress the investigation. The Police have requested that the BBC pause its investigations into the allegations while they scope future work.
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