Scott Mills statement: Former BBC Radio 2 DJ says he has been subject of “rumour and speculation” since sacking

Scott Mills has released a statement through his lawyers following his sacking from the BBC. The former Radio 2 DJ has said he has been the subject of “rumour and speculation” in relation to a police investigation over allegations of a historical sexual offence.

In his first public statement since the news broke the 53-year-old said he “co-operated fully” with the investigation. Mills said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully co-operated and responded to in 2018. As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.

“Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter. I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

The BBC has said it “acted decisively” after receiving “new information” in the weeks prior to the sacking, despite knowing in 2017 about the police investigation into the allegations of serious sexual offences involving a teenage boy.

Mills’ contract with the BBC was terminated on Friday (March 27), days after he was abruptly removed from his breakfast slot. The broadcaster has now said they made the move after receiving new information. A BBC spokesperson said: “Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many.

“We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.

“What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values, and terminated his contracts on Friday March 27.”

The BBC added: “Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the 53-year-old in 2016 over allegations of serious sexual offences involving a teenage boy under 16 between 1997 and 2000. Mills was questioned under caution by officers in July 2018 and The Sun has reported that Mills denied the claims at the time and informed the BBC.

The newspaper said BBC bosses decided not to take the then-Radio 1 presenter off air at the time and the case was dropped in May 2019 because of lack of evidence. Hampshire Police said the sexual offences allegations were first reported by a third party in 2016, and that the force logged the details and passed on information to the Met for investigation.

The Met, which does not identify people under investigation pre-charge, said it closed its investigation in May 2019 after advice from the Crown Prosecution Service that “the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges”.

The BBC has apologised for not following up after a separate allegation of “inappropriate communications” by Mills was raised by a journalist last year.