The BBC revealed it received complaints against Tim Westwood – including one that was referred to the police – despite BBC director-general Tim Davie confirming there was “no evidence of complaints,” just months ago.
The British Hip-Hop DJ hosted shows on BBC radio between 1994 and 2013. The Guardian and BBC conducted a joint investigation into Westwood. They found seven Black women who alleged incidents of sexual misconduct against the DJ between 1994 and 2013. They accused him of abusing his position and power in the industry to abuse them. The claims were brought to light in The Guardian’s report and the BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.
The former BBC DJ denies all charges. He has stepped down from his Capital Xtra radio show until further notice.
BBC Makes U-Turn On Tim Westwood Complaints
After The Guardian published its report, Davie stated, “we looked at our records and we’ve seen no evidence of complaints.”
However, the BBC has now confirmed it received a total of six complaints relating to the period the DJ worked at the BBC. They are being assessed as part of an ongoing review into the nearly two decades he worked with the corporation. The BBC also confirmed Tim Westwood was spoken to in relation to one of these matters while another was referred to the police.
The BBC did not disclose if the complaints were upheld but confirmed they related to allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct. Some of these relate to Westwood’s actions outside the BBC.
A BBC spokesperson said the internal inquiry was ongoing. The new information emerged following a challenge by BBC News regarding the corporation’s handling of an initial Freedom of Information Act request last year.
“As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so. People have now done so and we will continue to investigate. We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn’t concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.”
