The BBC revealed it had received complaints against Tim Westwood – including one that was referred to the police – despite previously insisting it was unaware of any concerns about the DJ’s behaviour.
The corporation says it is looking into six complaints linked to Westwood, including some dating back, raising serious questions about what she said publicly after the Guardian and BBC published a joint investigation on April 26.
The story exposed allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Radio 1 DJ, which he denied, prompting statements from CEO Tim Davey.
A day after the story broke, Davey said he had “seen no evidence of complaints” – but the BBC has now confirmed it has received six it is assessing as part of the review it launched into Westwood’s 19-year career at the corporation.
As well as a matter which has been referred to the police, the BBC has confirmed that Westwood has been spoken to in relation to another complaint.
The Guardian understands that some of these complaints were in the past and have been found in BBC files – including one passed to the police. Others were made after the story was published.
The BBC said the complaint it had sent to police did not relate to an allegation of physical assault, adding that it would be able to say more when the investigation is complete. Police declined to comment on whether they received or how they handled any referrals.
In a statement to the Guardian, the BBC said Davey had “stated the position as he understood it at the time”.
In April, the Guardian published testimonies from seven women who made allegations of sexual misconduct against Westwood. They alleged that he abused his position in the music industry to take advantage of them.
The DJ has consistently denied all allegations against him, with his spokesperson saying there have never been any complaints against him “officially or unofficially”.
The new details emerged after BBC News complained about the corporation’s response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request as part of a joint Guardian/BBC investigation.
The BBC has already confirmed it has received six complaints about Westwood’s conduct relating to the period 1994-2013, when he was employed by the BBC.
The BBC said the complaints related to allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct, and some related to Westwood’s conduct outside the BBC. The corporation did not say whether any of the appeals had been upheld. “We are aware that one of these complaints has been referred to the police and Mr Westwood has been spoken to in relation to another complaint,” the BBC confirmed.
“We do not know what further action has been taken at this stage. As a result, we are investigating what actions were taken at the time.”
Asked for details, a BBC spokesman said an internal investigation was ongoing.
“As we said, if people have things they want to raise with the BBC then they should. People have already done it and we will continue to investigate. We also said we would dig into what happened in the past. We do this with great care. All this work is not finished and continues. We said we would take this seriously, and we did. When this work is finished, we will say more.
Regarding the matter, which was referred to the police, the spokesman added: “This is a historic case which the BBC has discovered in its files. We are establishing the facts surrounding him. It did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises or conduct towards a BBC employee, nor was it an allegation of physical assault. No further details were given and it is unclear whether Westwood was notified of the referral.
The BBC voluntarily provided the new information after a challenge by BBC News journalist Chi Chi Izundu over the corporation’s handling of an initial FoI request last year.
At that point, the corporation declined to say anything about Westwood, refusing to confirm or deny whether it had any information about Westwood’s conduct.
The response said his position had changed since the publication of the inquiry in April, which included the airing of the BBC Three program Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.
In a statement following a Guardian/BBC investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct made against Westwood in April, the BBC said it was “shocked”.
A spokesman said: “The BBC is against all forms of inappropriate behavior and we are shocked to hear of these allegations. The BBC has strict codes of conduct for everyone employed by the BBC, including on-air presenters.’
Davey, who was head of BBC radio when Westwood was the voice of rap and hip-hop on Radio 1, called the allegations “shocking” the day after they were made, but said he had seen no evidence of complaints made against the DJ on the BBC. He described the allegations of sexual misconduct made against Westwood as “appalling” and urged anyone with evidence to come forward.
After the initial allegations, Davey said: “This is shocking and the women’s testimony is powerful and terrifying. I give credit to the BBC and Guardian teams for pursuing the story.’
Asked if the BBC had any records of formal complaints against Westwood, he said: “I have seen no evidence of complaints. I asked and we reviewed our records and saw no evidence.
“Every complaint should be taken seriously. If anything comes up, we will fully investigate it. If people have evidence that things aren’t tracked, or have concerns in this area, bring it to us…we’ll track everything down and dig and dig and dig. If people have evidence of wrongdoing, we need to present it.”
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A spokesman for Westwood said the allegations were completely false and denied them in their entirety when the investigation was published in April.
Lawyers acting on his behalf said he was a well-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 clarify that he did not behave in the manner described.
Following the publication, a spokesperson for Westwood added: “Tim Westwood vehemently denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour. In his career spanning 40 years, there have never been any complaints against him, officially or unofficially. Tim Westwood vehemently denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
Westwood did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
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