BBC scandal; why won’t the BBC or British media release the name of the presenter to the public?

The BBC is once again in the middle of a scandal involving one of its presenters, currently unnamed, and payments of £35,000 for explicit photos over a three-year period, starting when the teenager was 17. The news, first unveiled by The Sun, has prompted questions as to who the presenter was, as they were taken off air while the investigations took place.

There are growing calls also that the broadcaster has not named the presenter alleged to be in the centre of the newest controversy, with one minister this morning calling for the “when” and the “what” to be disclosed by the BBC, though didn’t go as far as to state the presenter should be named. 

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk says the BBC must look at the "chronology" of allegations and "who knew what and when," during an appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning. The Tory MP said he was not trying to "bash the BBC", noting it does an important job, "but I do think they need to get their house in order and they need to proceed promptly."

The BBC says it is "working as quickly as possible to establish the facts" into the unnamed male presenter and in an email to staff on Sunday, the BBC's director general ​​Tim Davie said he was taking the allegations "incredibly seriously."

However, the family of the young person at the centre of the allegations have been unhappy with the response by the BBC when the allegations were first made in May 2023. Speaking to The Sun, a quote from a family member stated that "no one from the corporation rang them for a proper interview after the initial complaint," while the mother of the young person told the paper that her child had used the money “to fund a crack habit.”

The BBC is due to meet the Metropolitan Police later today to discuss the issue.

Why hasn’t the BBC presenter been named yet?

A number of BBC personalities have come forwards on social media to ensure that their names aren’t associated with the ongoing investigation; Rylan Clark, Jeremy Vine and Gary Lineker have all expressed the innocence on social media, leading to calls why the BBC has yet “named and shamed” the individual at the centre of the controversy, or why no media outlet has as of yet.

That falls down to media law; though there might be significant evidence to demonstrate someone is guilty, there has to be a burden of proof before naming someone in order to avoid libel.

Libel is a permanent form of defamation, which comes in the form of a written statement that falsely accuses someone of something. For a statement to be considered libel, it must identify the person, which is what members of the public are calling for. 

As of writing, there has been no court injunction prevent the name of the presenter to be revealed, but that entirely depends on the findings of the BBC’s investigation and whether the Met Police consider it a criminal matter; at that stage, a name (or names) may be revealed if the presenter is taken into custody and does not file a court injunction for name suppression.