The BBC has suspended an unnamed male member of staff after it was reported that he paid a young person around £35,000 over three years, from the age of 17, for explicit images.
Now the BBC's director-general Tim Davie will face questions from the media on Tuesday during a scheduled briefing following the release of the corporation’s annual report, although it is thought that the recent controversy will likely dominate the agenda.
The report, planned before the allegations became public knowledge, is an assessment of the BBC’s performance over the last year.
It typically reveals the pay remuneration of the TV network’s biggest earners, with Tim expected to answer questions about pay packets.
It comes after the young person, now 20, who has found themselves at the centre of the controversy said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened with the unnamed presenter, however, their mother reportedly stands by the claims.
In a letter reported by BBC News At Six, the young person said via a lawyer: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are ‘rubbish’.”
The legal representative also said the young person told The Sun on Friday evening before the newspaper published the story that there was “no truth to it”, the BBC reported.
The lawyer reportedly called the article on the front page “inappropriate”, claiming in the letter the mother and the young person are estranged.
BBC News said it does not know the identity of the young person and has not spoken to them directly, but that the letter was sent by a multinational law firm.
Police said they are carrying out further inquiries to establish whether any crime has been committed after BBC representatives spoke with detectives on Monday morning.
A spokesperson for The Sun, who broke the story, said: “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.”
The mother and stepfather of the young person stood by their allegation, and questioned how their child could afford the lawyer, The Sun reported.
The newspaper alleged that the mother said: “It is sad but we stand by our account and we hope they get the help they need.
“We did this to help – and the presenter has got into their head. How did they afford a lawyer?”
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