Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
The BBC scandal story dominates Monday’s front pages. An unnamed BBC presenter has been suspended from the BBC following allegations that he paid a teenager for sexually explicit pictures. The police are now involved and the presenter has been suspended.
BBC sex scandal
The Daily Telegraph suggests the BBC was prompted to contact the Met Police over fears the “star sex scandal” could engulf the BBC. The BBC’s internal investigations team will meet Scotland Yard detectives for help with the case on Monday, the paper notes.
The Daily Mail claims the director general was not made aware of the allegations until last Thursday because bosses didn’t register how serious the allegations were.
The Sun says the BBC has a “sorry history of ignoring complaints and rumours about its own presenters, sometimes with appalling consequences.”
The Metro reports MPs have claimed that the BBC’s director general was too slow. The headline declares: “Beeb’s briefs crisis.”
Director General Tim Davie confirmed the BBC received its first complaint about the unnamed presenter in May, prior to new information emerging this week, the i newspaper reports.
Whilst the Daily Mirror says Davie defended the BBC saying the presenter was dropped after “new allegations” came to light. Labour MP Rachel Reeves says the BBC “needs to get a grip” as it seems to “lurch from one scandal to another”, notes the paper.
US and Germany under pressure
Away from the BBC scandal, the Guardian’s front page leads with an exclusive which reveals more than 50 MPs have owned stakes in publicly listed companies that raise questions about possible conflicts of interest.
The Financial Times reports Germany and the US are under pressure from other allies to show greater support for Ukraine’s eventual membership in Nato.