10 July 2023 , 18:29
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BBC News say they do not know the identity of the teenager at the centre of the allegations made against a BBC presenter.
Today, the teenager's lawyer released a statement where they said the allegations made by the mother were 'rubbish'. The unnamed presenter has been accused of paying more than £35,000 to a teenager - now 20 years old - in exchange for sexually explicit images, according to the young person's mother, who made the comments to The Sun.
However, the lawyer has now sent a letter to BBC News, where they denied anything "inappropriate or unlawful has taken place".
"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 lawyer said in a letter to the BBC.
The letter led to The Sun releasing a statement, where they called for the BBC to "properly investigate".
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In a statement, The Sun newspaper 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."
On Friday, The Sun reported a BBC presenter allegedly paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures. It was claimed an unnamed star at the national broadcaster has been accused of handing over cash sums in return for explicit images from the teenager when they were 17-years-old. In an additional report, the mother of the anonymous accuser alleged the still then unnamed BBC presenter stripped to his underwear during a video call with her then teenage child.
"I was shocked to see a picture of him sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear," she told the publication, before adding: "I immediately recognised him, he was leaning forward getting ready for my child to perform for him. My child told me, 'I have shown things' and this was a picture from some kind of video call."
The woman claims she initially raised concerns with the corporation in May after the BBC presenter sent £5,000 in one transaction for sexually explicit photographs of their child.
The BBC confirmed on Sunday that a male staff member had been suspended, and in a statement, they said they were working hard "to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps".