2 months ago
The BBC has apologized for not looking into abstracted allegations relating to Scott Mills, nan power presenter who was fired amid humanities intersexual misconduct claims.
The BBC was contacted by freelance journalist Anna Brees successful May 2025 regarding accusation she had received astir alleged “inappropriate communications” involving Mills.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Brees asked nan BBC if location were ever “formal aliases informal complaints” astir Mills, “relating to safeguarding, inappropriate behaviour aliases harassment.” She did not person a response.
In a connection connected Tuesday, nan BBC said: “We received a property query successful 2025 which included constricted information. This should person been followed up and we should person asked further questions. We apologise for this and will look into why this did not happen. More broadly, we would ever impulse anyone who has concerns aliases accusation to raise it pinch us.”
Brees has presented news shows for nan BBC and ITV during her career, but has been criticized for her support of Alex Belfield, who successful September 2022 was convicted of stalking TV presenters, including Jeremy Vine. She described Belfield arsenic a “friend” pursuing his conviction.
The BBC has not commented connected nan reasons for firing Mills, but since leaving nan BBC, it has emerged that nan Radio 2 big was questioned by constabulary successful 2018 complete allegations of superior intersexual offences against a boy nether nan property of 16.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson did not sanction Mills, but said that successful December 2016, nan unit had investigated “allegations of superior intersexual offences against a teenage boy.”
“These were reported to taken spot betwixt 1997 and 2000,” it added. “As portion of these enquiries, a man who was successful his 40s astatine nan clip of nan interview, was questioned by constabulary nether be aware successful July 2018. A afloat record of grounds was submitted to nan Crown Prosecution Service, who wished nan evidential period had not been met to bring charges. Following this advice, nan investigation was closed successful May 2019.”
The BBC’s determination to portion ways pinch Mills has led immoderate to mobility whether it was proportionate. Richard Bacon, nan erstwhile BBC power presenter and creator of ABC gameshow The Hustler, said: “This is simply a elephantine nationalist humiliation. It’s a vulnerable point to do, unless there’s a really really really clear reason. I conjecture we don’t cognize correct now. But it needs to beryllium an incontrovertible really large reason. It’s difficult to judge he’s a bad person.”
