Written by Morgan Cormack
Following a joint investigation by The Guardian and the BBC that reported multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by Tim Westwood, the BBC has now revealed that it received six separate complaints about the DJ.
The BBC has now revealed that it received a total of six complaints against DJ Tim Westwood, despite previously insisting that it was unaware of any concerns around his behaviour. This includes one complaint that was referred to the police.
All of the complaints are about Westwood’s alleged bullying or sexual misconduct and come after Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, stated that there was “no evidence of complaints” in April. Davie’s comments came a day after the joint BBC News and The Guardian exposé on Westwood’s predatory sexual behaviour, where multiple women accused Westwood of sexual misconduct and claimed “he misused his position in the music industry to take advantage of them”.
Westwood denies all allegations.
In relation to the police referral, a BBC spokesperson 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, but the spokesperson did add that the DJ had been “spoken to” following one of the other complaints.
The corporation said it was not aware of what further action was taken about the complaints at the time.
These new details have emerged after BBC News complained about the corporation’s response to a freedom of information (FoI) request in November 2021, as part of their joint investigation with The Guardian.
The confirmed six complaints about Westwood’s conduct relate to the period between 1994 and 2013 when he was employed at the BBC as a presenter on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra, and hosted the UK’s first nationally broadcast hip-hop show.
In its response to the BBC News challenge, the corporation said: “We are aware that one of these complaints was referred to police and Westwood was spoken to in relation to another complaint.
“We are not aware what further action was taken at this stage. As a result of this, we are looking into what action was taken at the time.”
A BBC spokesperson has confirmed that the internal inquiry is ongoing, commenting:
“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.”
The BBC’s response stated that its stance had changed after The Guardian and BBC investigation was published in April, which also included the BBC Three documentary Tim Westwood: Abuse Of Power.
The 30-minute documentary included personal accounts from six Black women who accused him of misconduct, predatory sexual encounters and unwanted touching.
The documentary, while an uncomfortable watch, was widely viewed as important as it gave Black women a platform to finally speak their truth. It was criticised at the time of airing on account of how short it was, but ultimately, it gave many people a small insight into the rumours that have been widely circulated in the Black British community and on social media for years.
In a response to the documentary, a spokesperson for Westwood said he denied the allegations in their entirety: “Our client confirms that there has never been any complaint made against him, whether officially or unofficially, relating to claims of inappropriate behaviour of the nature described.
“No complaint has ever been made to the police, and nobody has ever raised these matters, or any colourably similar, with him directly or with his representatives.
“There has been no investigation in relation to him of any nature whatsoever, whether by the police, his employer or indeed any other authority.”
As of now, we’ll have to wait and see what the BBC’s internal inquiry concludes, but in the meantime, Tim Westwood: Abuse Of Power is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Images: Getty
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