The BBC has terminated radio presenter Scott Mills after discovering that the alleged sufferer in a Nineties sexual offence investigation was a toddler beneath 16 on the time.
Present BBC executives discovered of the complainant’s age solely in current weeks. This revelation led to decisive motion, with Mills pulled from his Radio 2 Breakfast Present final Tuesday and dismissed simply six days later.
Context Behind the Criticism
Officers point out the unnamed complainant contacted authorities amid widespread publicity for the drama Energy: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, starring Martin Clunes.
Previous Police Probe Particulars
Former BBC administration is reviewing inner data and interviewing employees to find out consciousness of the Metropolitan Police investigation. Mills confronted questioning beneath warning in 2018 over the historic allegation, reported in 2016. Authorities submitted proof to the Crown Prosecution Service, which declined fees in 2019 attributable to inadequate proof.
Mills’ Official Response
On Wednesday night, the 53-year-old presenter issued a press release by way of his attorneys, confirming his function within the matter:
‘The current announcement that I’m not contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of hearsay and hypothesis. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a press release, which I verify pertains to me.
‘An allegation was made towards me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the topic of a police investigation through which I absolutely cooperated and responded to in 2018.
‘Because the police have acknowledged, a file of proof was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided that the evidential threshold had not been met to convey fees.
‘For the reason that investigation associated to an allegation that dates again almost 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years in the past, I hope that the general public and the media will perceive and respect my want to not make any additional public touch upon this matter.
‘I want to thank from the underside of my coronary heart all those that have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues and my beloved listeners, who I enormously miss.’
Mills acknowledged the probe within the assertion however provided no denial of the underlying claims.
