By Herb Scribner
The BBC has suspended a male presenter over allegations of purchasing sexually explicit images from a teenager for thousands of dollars during a three-year period, the corporation said in a statement Sunday.
The Sun, a British newspaper, reported on Friday that an unnamed BBC presenter allegedly paid £35 000 (about R847K) for the explicit photos starting when the teenager was 17. Both the presenter and the alleged victim have not been identified.
According to the Sun, the mother of the alleged victim said her child, who is now 20, had a cocaine addiction that was funded by the presenter's payments.
The family reported the situation to the BBC and asked the organisation to tell the presenter to stop sending the money.
The BBC, which did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment, said in a statement on its website that it first became aware of the allegations in May and has since been in touch with external authorities and the alleged victim's family.
"This is a complex and fast moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps," the statement said.
"It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care," the statement said. "We have been clear that if - at any point - new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up."
In an email to staff published on the BBC's website, Tim Davie, the BBC director general, said he was taking the allegations "incredibly seriously," calling it a "complex" situation.
The investigations team, Davie said, has been "looking into this since it was raised and have been actively following up."
Multiple BBC stars have denied allegations against them. Star pundit Gary Lineker distanced himself from the story in a tweet on Sunday, saying, "Hate to disappoint the haters but it's not me."
Network stars Jeremy Vine and Rylan Clark also denied the allegations after many social media users attempted to link them to the reports.
Britain's Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) called the allegations "concerning" and urged the news broadcasting channel to keep the government informed as the investigations continue, according to multiple reports.
"As a public service broadcaster in receipt of public funding, senior officials have stressed to the BBC that the allegations must be investigated urgently and sensitively, with [DCMS] kept informed," the department said.
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, tweeted on Sunday that she had spoken with Davie about the allegations.
"Given the nature of the allegations it is important that the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action," she wrote.