The BBC has revealed that it received complaints against Tim Westwood, including one that was referred to police, although it had previously insisted it knew of no concerns about the DJ’s behavior.
The corporation says it is reviewing six Westwood-related complaints, including some that are in the past, which raises serious questions about what it said in public after the Guardian and the BBC released a joint investigation on April 26th.
The story exposed allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Radio 1 DJ, which he denied, and provoked statements from CEO Tim Davie.
The day after the story, Davie said he “had not seen any evidence of complaints”, but now the BBC has confirmed that it has received six, which it is evaluating as part of a review it launched on the 19 years of Westwood’s career in the corporation.
In addition to a matter that was referred to the police, the BBC confirmed that it had spoken to Westwood in relation to another complaint.
The Guardian understands that some of these complaints were in the past and were found in BBC files, including the one referring to police. Others were made after the story was published.
The BBC said the complaint he referred to the police was not related to a physical assault allegation, adding that he would be in a position to say more when he concludes his investigation. Police declined to comment on whether they had received or how they had handled any referrals.
In a statement to the Guardian, the BBC said Davie had “set out the position as he understood it at the time”.
In April, The Guardian published the testimony of seven women who filed sexual misconduct allegations against Westwood. They claimed that he misused his position in the music industry to take advantage of it.
The DJ has consistently denied all allegations against him, with a spokesman for him saying there had never been any allegations against him “officially or unofficially”.
The new details came after BBC News complained about the corporation’s response to a request for freedom of information (FoI), as part of the joint Guardian / BBC investigation.
The BBC has now confirmed that it received six complaints about Westwood’s conduct relating to the period 1994-2013 when he was working at the BBC.
The BBC said the complaints related to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct and some related to Westwood’s conduct outside the BBC. The corporation did not say whether any of the complaints had been accepted. “We are aware that one of these complaints was referred to the police and was discussed with Mr Westwood in connection with another complaint,” the BBC confirmed.
“We don’t know what action was taken at this stage. As a result, we are investigating what action was taken at that time.”
When asked for more details, a BBC spokesman said the internal investigation was ongoing.
“Like we said, if people have things they want to raise with the BBC, they should do it. People have done it now and we will continue to investigate. We also said we would delve deeper into what happened in the past. We are doing it. very carefully. All this work is not finished and is in progress. We said we took it seriously, and we are. When this work is completed, we will say more. “
On the subject, which was referred to the police, the spokesman added: “This is a historic case that the BBC has found in its files. We are establishing the facts around you. It was not related to conduct on the BBC, BBC facilities or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it a charge of physical assault. “He did not give further details and it is unclear whether Westwood was informed of the derivation.
The BBC offered the new information following a challenge from BBC News journalist Chi Chi Izundu regarding the corporation’s handling of an initial FoI application last year.
The corporation then refused to say anything about Westwood, refusing to confirm or deny whether it had information about Westwood’s conduct.
The response stated that its position had changed after the publication of the investigation in April, which included the broadcast of the BBC program Three Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.
In a statement following the Guardian / BBC investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Westwood in April, the BBC said it was “surprised”.
A spokesman had said: “The BBC is against all forms of misconduct and we are surprised to hear these allegations. The BBC has strict codes of conduct for everyone who hires the BBC, including live presenters.” .
Davie, who was the head of radio production at the BBC when Westwood was the voice of rap and hip-hop on Radio 1, called the allegations “shocking” the day after the allegations, but said he had not seen no evidence of complaints. made against the DJ at the BBC. He described the allegations of sexual misconduct made against Westwood as “horrific” and urged anyone with evidence to come forward.
After the original allegations, Davie said: “It’s shocking and the women’s testimony is powerful and scary. I credit the BBC and Guardian teams for following the story.”
When asked if the BBC had formal records of complaints about Westwood, he said: “I have not seen any evidence of complaints. I have asked and we have looked at our records and we have not seen any evidence.
“Every complaint has to be taken seriously. If something comes up, we’ll investigate it thoroughly. If people have evidence where things haven’t been tracked or if they have concerns in that area, take them to us. .. we will keep track of anything and dig and dig and dig. If people have evidence of misconduct, we have to file it. “
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter, every weekday morning at 7:00 BST
A Westwood spokesman said the allegations were completely false and denied them in their entirety when the investigation was published in April.
The lawyers acting for him said he was a highly respected and highly successful DJ: “Any suggestion that he acts, or has acted, in the manner described would be false and seriously defamatory.” They said he wanted to make it clear that he did not behave as described.
After the publication, a Westwood spokesman added: “Tim Westwood flatly denies all allegations of misconduct. In a 40-year career, there have never been any official or unofficial allegations against him. Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of misconduct. crimes “.
Westwood did not respond to a request for comment on this story.