The BBC has received six complaints against disgraced DJ Tim Westwood over alleged bullying and sexual misconduct, including a historical one that was referred to the police, despite previously insisting it was unaware of any concerns about the DJ’s behaviour.
Westwood, 64, was accused of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, during incidents alleged to have taken place between 1992 and 2017, following a joint investigation by the BBC and The Guardian.
The day after the report was published, BBC director-general Tim Davie called the claims made against Westwood “appalling” and said he’d “seen no evidence of complaints”.
The BBC has since confirmed that it received six complaints, which it is assessing as part of a review into the ex-DJ’s career at the company.
A BBC spokesman said in a statement: “This is a historic case that the BBC has found in its files. We are establishing the facts around it.
“It did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.”
The BBC declined to say whether the other five complaints had been received before or after Mr Davie’s statement in April.
The BBC also confirmed that Westwood was spoken to in relation to another complaint.
In a separate statement, a BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “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.”
In a statement at the time, Westwood denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations were fabricated, false, and without foundation.
“In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially. Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing,” a statement issued on behalf of the presenter said.
The seven women spoken to in the joint investigation, who are all Black, gave detailed accounts in the aftermath of anonymous allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Westwood, which were circulated on social media in June 2020.
They share their accounts in a BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power
