BBC presenter: Second person comes forward; claims they “felt threatened” by star

The new allegations come following earlier claims a teenager received thousands of pounds to send the star sexual images.

But in that case, the now 20-year-old has said the claims – made by the person’s family – were “rubbish”.

On Friday, The Sunnewspaper published claims from the first person’s family that the presenter had paid around £35,000 ($A68,000) for sexual photos and video calls when they were 17.

That money, the family said, was then used to fund a drug habit.

“Without the money, my partner’s child would have no drugs,” the person’s stepfather told The Sun.

In the UK, the age of consent is 16 years old. However, in England and Wales any distribution of sexual images of someone under the age of 18 is illegal.

Young person says claims are ‘rubbish’

The family approached the BBC in May with the allegations. But they claimed the presenter remained on air untilThe Sun approached the broadcaster with the allegations.

On Sunday, the BBC suspended the household name and began an investigation as did London’s Metropolitan Police.

The star has not revealed themselves and has issued no statement on the matter.

The UK has strict privacy and defamation laws, which has made the media increasingly wary of revealing a person’s identity before they are formally under investigation or arrest.

However, over the weekend, several high profile BBC presenters denied the person suspended was them after intense speculation on social media.

On Monday, UK time, the BBC said it had received a letter from the person’s lawyers saying “nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place”.

“The allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish,” the letter said.

The family has stood by its claims.

The letter claimed the person was not contacted by The Sun prior to the story’s publication.

In a statement, The Sun said it had seen evidence to back up the claims from “two very concerned parents”.

“It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.”

Questions remain over what – if any – relationship there was between the presenter and the then teen and whether the BBC properly investigated the allegations when the family approached the broadcaster in May.

The Metropolitan Police has now told the BBC to pause its internal investigation while its attempts to establish if a crime has been committed.

There is currently no criminal investigation and no one has been charged.

Another police force has confirmed it was contacted in April but “no criminality was identified”. It is now working with the Metropolitan Police.

Second person comes forward

On Tuesday, BBC News reported that a second young person had come forward accusing the same presenter of sending “abusive and menacing” messages.

The person, in their early twenties, said the presenter had messaged them on a dating app and asked them to meet up but they never did.

They recognised the presenter and, the BBC reported, “hinted they might name” them which led to a number of “abusive expletive filled messages”.

“The young person said they had been scared by the power the presenter held,” BBC News reported.

“They said the threats made in the messages … had frightened them, and they remain scared.” The BBC reported they “felt threatened”.

The broadcaster has said it has seen the messages and confirmed they came from a phone which belonged to the star.

The presenter has not commented.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, the BBC director general Tim Davie said the scandal was “clearly damaging” to the broadcaster.

He defended the BBC’s handling of the issue and said the allegations were immediately taken seriously but conceded there was a question as to whether it raised “red flags quick enough”.

Meanwhile, there are calls for the presenter to voluntarily name themselves.

Conservative MP Damian Collins, who used to sit on a government committee that examined the BBC, said the star’s anonymity might not be “sustainable” if they were off air for a protracted period and that absence was noticed by viewers.

– with AFP.