Like many of you, I have been thinking about the possible identity of the BBC presenter who is allegedly to have made significant cash payments to a young person in exchange for explicit photographs. According to the mother of the young person, this money was used to feed a crack cocaine habit. I’ve also wondered how I meet deal with such a situation had the young person been one of my children and I didn’t wonder for very long: I’d have gone to the police. After all, this would potentially be a very serious crime so instead she goes to that great bastion of morality, Rupert Murdoch’s Sun.
As of yesterday evening, the Met Police said that they had been contacted by the BBC about the allegations but “no formal referral or allegation has been made”. This all seems very odd so courtesy of Mr Google I managed to find a timeline of events:
- Friday 19 May: The young person’s family complain to the BBC about one of its presenter’s behaviour, according to The Sun
- 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 that the corporation is in touch with police
I make no comment about the validity of the allegation but that timeline is, I would suggest, very cynical, with the specific aim of running throughout the weekend. That’s standard tabloid practice on a big splash, to hold back enough of the story to help sell later editions, in this case the rest of the weekend and beyond.
At this point in time, given the seriousness of the allegation it’s probably wise, even for someone as unwise as me, to avoid casting judgement until such time as the story emerges, especially since we know next to nothing about the identities and indeed backgrounds of any of the protagonists.
Publicly at least, I am trying to keep an open mind on the subject, despite my reservations about the quality or otherwise of the Sun’s ‘journalism’, particularly given the pernicious and poisonous role it has played in society since it was purchased by Murdoch. And I would certainly be happier if suggestions of wrongdoing were dealt with by the legitimate forces of law and order rather the moral vacuum that is The Sun, which memorably waited for Samantha Fox to turn 16 before they published topless photos of her. I can’t help feeling that the BBC, so loathed by Murdoch and The Sun, is being stitched-up here, but hopefully the truth will out sooner or later.
