BBC 'PROBE' WAS SINGLE PHONE CALL & AN EMAIL

Pressure ramps up for channel boss | Investigation halted to make way for police | Vine urges presenter to name himself

- NICOLA METHVEN

THE BBC’s initial probe into claims a star paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos consisted of an unanswered email and a phone call that did not connect. 

A timeline released by the BBC showed its corporate investigations team sent the email to follow up the complaint that was made on May 19.

There was no response, so on June 6 staff made a call to the mobile number provided by the complainant.

That was the end of the attempts to make contact at that stage.

The BBC presenter at the heart of the scandal has now also been accused of sending “threatening messages” to a young person who met him on a dating app.

Their conversations are said to have moved to other platforms before the star revealed his identity and asked the youngster not to tell anyone.

It is claimed the presenter reacted furiously when the young person posted online that the pair had been in contact and made hints about naming him publicly.

BBC News reported that the high-profile staff member sent a number of “threatening messages” which came from his mobile and have been seen by the corporation. Last night BBC News reported that the young person felt “threatened” by the messages and “remains scared”. This individual is not connected to the person at the centre of the explicit images reports.