In the UK, the BBC is in turmoil following sexual accusations against one of its star presenters.
With our correspondent in London, Marie Boeda
The channel is accused of having wanted to protect one of its star presenters – whose identity has not been revealed – accused by a mother of having paid her 17-year-old child 40,000 euros in exchange for photos and sex videos.
This Tuesday, the general manager tried to put out the fire. Tim Davie praised his serve internal investigation but recognizes, half-words, that the BBC did not act quickly enough. ” The allegations were taken seriously. But first, I wonder if we raised the red flags quickly enough on accusations of this nature. Second, there may well be lessons to be learned from this case in terms of process and protocol. “, did he declare.
” This is clearly a complex and difficult situation and we need to manage a number of factors: properly responding to serious allegations (…) respecting the privacy of individuals and the legitimate public interest “, added Mr. Davie during a press conference.
The mother of the child concerned claims to have alerted the BBC last month. Furious to see the presenter still on the air, she decided to tell her story to the Sun. The tabloid revealed the case this weekend except that in the meantime, the lawyer for the young alleged victim denied the words of the mother of the family.
While waiting to learn more, the public channel has suspended its employee. It is now up to the police to collect evidence and confirm whether there has indeed been a criminal offence.
In addition, a second person accuses the presenter of threats. According to him, he was contacted on a dating application by the presenter who insisted that they see each other. But when this second person, in her twenties, hinted that she would reveal the star’s identity, he allegedly tried to intimidate her.