The BBC has been accused of a scandalous cover-up following claims a presenter broke the wrist of one of his female colleagues in a physical altercation.
The Mail on Sunday understands that bosses were made aware of the violent assault but failed to report it to police, or even take any disciplinary action against the high-profile staff member. He continued to work at the broadcaster for several years afterwards.
One source told the MoS: ‘He had taken her by the wrists, crossed them over one another and then threw her down to the floor. A doctor’s report was filed but nobody did anything about it. It was a cover-up from the BBC.’
The BBC has faced controversy over its failures to investigate and act over Jimmy Savile, newsreader Huw Edwards and DJ Scott Mills.
Senior MPs on Saturday hit out at the Corporation over the latest MoS revelations.
Tory MP Greg Stafford said: ‘We should barely be surprised given the BBC’s record of cover-ups, but it beggars belief that proper action was not taken against this individual at the time this incident was said to have occurred.
‘For one person to break another’s wrists is assault and if such an allegation was then made, the BBC should have called in the police. However, it would appear that once again, BBC bosses chose to brush a most serious problem under the carpet rather than address it properly.’
The Mail on Sunday knows the identity of the two people involved, but has decided not to identify them. Both have since left the Corporation for reasons unconnected with the incident.
The BBC’s headquarters at Broadcasting House. The Mail on Sunday understands that bosses at the broadcaster were made aware of the violent assault of a female colleague but failed to report it to police, or even take any disciplinary action against the high-profile staff member
The assault, which required the woman to go to hospital, is believed to have occurred around 2014.
BBC bosses are understood to have called the staff member in on a number of occasions to discuss his alleged behaviour in the workplace after several make-up artists reported possible evidence of alcohol and drug-taking.
He is also understood to have been arrested over an unconnected incident during his tenure at the channel, and released without charge.
But BBC management chose not to sack him and, instead, went on to give him what they believed were ‘undesirable’ shifts in the hope he would decide to leave.
The source added: ‘The BBC could see where it was all going but they hoped he would leave of his own accord.
‘It was hardly decisive action. He ended up staying for years. The BBC was his shield because it gave him credibility.’
It is the second allegation of a cover-up over staff conduct to hit the broadcaster in a matter of weeks.
Just last month, the BBC was criticised after it admitted it knew police had investigated former Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills for alleged sexual offences in 2017. The broadcaster took no action against Mills after police decided there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case and he was neither arrested nor charged with any offence.
Former radio presenter Scott Mills was sacked by the BBC in March over historical allegations of serious sexual offences
Disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 2024 and later pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving indecent images of children
He was sacked by the BBC in March this year after it learned that the complainant was under 16 at the time.
The broadcaster also faced stinging criticism over its lack of transparency over the Huw Edwards affair. It emerged that it had continued paying the BBC Six and Ten O’Clock News anchorman for several months after his arrest on child abuse image charges.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children in July 2024 and was sentenced in September 2024 to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
BBC insiders say the broadcaster fails to act decisively against staff accused of serious wrongdoing because it is more concerned with protecting its own reputation. Time and time again, they say, this strategy of ‘brushing everything under the carpet’ has backfired, exposing the Corporation to even more criticism when serious misbehaviour or criminality has been exposed.
Given the series of scandals, BBC bosses have become increasingly sensitive to confidential information about employees entering the public domain.
The MoS can reveal that on Thursday, John McAndrew, director of programmes for BBC News, wrote to the Corporation’s employees telling them to avoid sharing ‘unsubstantiated claims about colleagues without their consent’.
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Mr McAndrew referred to an ‘increasing number of instances where confidential information has been shared externally’.
Last year, the BBC set out new ‘behavioural expectations’ for all staff following a review of the culture at the Corporation – insisting that ‘clear action would be taken if these were not met’.
A spokesman for the BBC declined to be drawn on the specific allegations about the male presenter who allegedly assaulted his female colleague. She said: ‘While we do not comment on individual employment matters, the BBC has robust processes in place to uphold our standards.’
She did confirm the male employee at the centre of the allegations had left the BBC.
