Tim Westwood evidence deadline extended in review of DJ’s conduct while working at BBC

Tim Westwood has denied multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by women who met him while working in the music industry and say he abused his position to take advantage of them.

The lawyer in charge of an independent review examining Tim Westwood’s conduct during his time at the BBC has extended the deadline for evidence, in a bid to encourage more people to come forward.

Barrister Gemma White was appointed by the BBC board in August following an internal review, reporting to its senior independent director, Sir Nicholas Serota.

That review found the corporation should have further explored issues raised at the time.

In April, following a joint BBC and Guardian investigation, Westwood “strongly denied” several allegations of sexual misconduct by women who say he abused his position to take advantage of them.

All the women are black and worked in the music industry.

Three of the women accused the former Radio 1 DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others claimed they were groped by him at events, between 1992 and 2017.

Their stories were featured in a BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.

After the documentary aired, Westwood stepped down from his Capital Xtra radio show “until further notice”.

The day after the story broke, BBC director general Tim Davie said he had “seen no evidence of complaints”, but the corporation later confirmed it had received six complaints of bullying and sexual misconduct, one of which it passed to the police at the time.

Announcing the extension for information to 2 December, Ms White said: “It has been just over a month since the BBC published my call for evidence for the review and I want to thank everyone who has come forward with information.

“Some of you have told me how difficult it has been for you to take the decision to contact me. I understand that speaking about sensitive matters can be painful and there are many things that you have needed to consider before doing so.

“Others who have written or spoken to me have wondered whether the information they have to contribute is relevant, or sufficiently important – and my answer to that is, simply, yes. I have been, and remain, keen to hear from everyone who has anything to say to me.

“It is important to me that I hear from everyone who wishes to speak and I have therefore decided to extend the period for people to get in touch.”

Westwood left the BBC in 2013 after nearly two decades with the broadcaster.

Ms White will be assisted by independent safeguarding expert Jahnine Davis, who she described as a “respected and experienced expert in her field” who is “available to join me for conversations or meetings”.

She added: “To anyone who sees this who may have something to share, please feel free to contact me directly and if you would like Jahnine to be involved, please just let me know”.

The investigation is intended to be completed in six months and the BBC has said it is willing to work with Westwood’s other employers, which include MTV and Capital Xtra-owner Global, to establish what happened.

Westwood, who is now 65, was an early champion of hip hop in the UK and hosted the first nationally broadcast rap show on UK radio from 1994.

He left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years, joining Capital Xtra to host a regular show on Saturday nights, where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”.

In a statement in April, a spokesperson for Westwood said: “Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

“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.”

source: news.sky.com