BBC accused of ignoring sex photo claim despite knowing star made ‘payments’

The family of a youngster that was allegedly paid for sexual pictures by a BBC presenter has claimed they alerted the national broadcaster to the situation seven weeks ago. Emails seen by The Sun are said to show that the alleged victim’s stepfather contacted the BBC on May 19 regarding significant payments made by the now suspended star. The family insist that the corporation was made aware of the situation after the presenter attempted to meet the young person, who is said to have a “spiralling” addiction to crack cocaine, at a train station. The stepdad told the publication: “We put the allegations to them for an hour.” However, it was claimed that the presenter remained on the air and was not spoken to by BBC bosses until The Sun published its allegations. The BBC said it had been investigating a complaint since May and new claims of a “different nature” were brought to it on Thursday. A BBC spokesperson said previously: “We treat any allegations very seriously and we have processes in place to proactively deal with them. “As part of that, if we receive information that requires further investigation or examination we will take steps to do this. “That includes actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation. “If we get no reply to our attempts or receive no further contact that can limit our ability to progress things but it does not mean our enquiries stop. “If, at any point, new information comes to light or is provided – including via newspapers – this will be acted upon appropriately, in line with internal processes.” We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story. For the latest news and breaking news visit: /news Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/DailyExpress and @Daily_Express