FORMER BBC presenter Scott Mills was sacked after senior management learned that the alleged victim in a historic police investigation was under the age of 16, according to reports.
The BBC has confirmed that it was aware in 2017 of an ongoing police investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, but said fresh information only came to light in recent weeks. The corporation then terminated Mills’ contracts on Friday, March 27.
The Metropolitan Police said the investigation began in December 2016 following a referral from another force. It related to allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy, reported to have taken place between 1997 and 2000.
A man, then in his 40s, was questioned under caution in July 2018. Police later passed a full file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. The investigation was closed in May 2019.
Mills, 53, said this week that he had fully cooperated with the investigation and responded to police in 2018.
In a statement, he said the matter related to an allegation dating back nearly 30 years and noted that the police investigation had been closed seven years ago. He said he hoped the public and media would respect his wish not to make any further comment.
The former Radio 2 breakfast host did not address the substance of the allegations in his statement, nor did he give further detail about what led to his dismissal by the BBC.
The BBC said it had obtained new information in recent weeks and had spoken directly with Mills before taking action.
A spokesperson said: “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 27 March.”
The corporation also confirmed that it is now carrying out further work to establish exactly what was known internally at the time the police investigation first came to its attention in 2017.
Questions are now being asked about whether BBC managers at the time knew the age of the alleged victim, and whether the matter should have been escalated more widely within the organisation.
Mills last presented his Radio 2 breakfast show on Tuesday, March 24, signing off by telling listeners he would be back the following day. He has not returned to air since.
His departure has triggered renewed scrutiny of the BBC’s handling of allegations involving high-profile presenters, particularly in light of the broadcaster’s more recent emphasis on tougher internal standards and a zero-tolerance approach to misconduct.
