BBC apologizes for the “lost” possibilities of addressing behavior

He BBC He has apologized for missing the opportunities to take measures against Tim Westwood After an external review, he concluded that the former presenter’s behavior was “completely incompatible with the BBC values.”

The Board of the United Kingdom station published today an independent report, supervised by Gemma White KC, on how the BBC administered complaints about Westwood during the time it worked as Radio 1 and 1xtra DJ between 1994 and 2013. Westwood strongly denies All accusations against him.

Although he pointed out that there was no “knowledge of the generalized or significant BBC of accusations or concerns,” he admitted that the alleged incidents were “treated in isolation instead of gathering” and, therefore, a “pattern of pattern of behavior on which he could have acted. ” ”

“Beyond evaluating any alleged crime, which is a matter for the police, it is clear that there were times when BBC, learning about concerns about Mr. Westwood’s behavior, did not take appropriate measures,” added the Board of BBC in a statement. “There is evidence of intimidation and misogynist behavior by Mr. Westwood and the clear fact is that his general behavior was completely incompatible with the values ​​of the BBC, not only now, but then. The organization fell short and failed people, including our own staff, who had the right to wait for us better. ”

White’s report concluded that the accusations about Westwood’s behavior were a factor in his contract that was not renewed in 2013. The BBC radio leaders at that time recognized that he created a “toxic” culture among colleagues.

White, the lawyer promised to investigate the BBC’s response to Westwood’s accusations, said the DJ often made sexualized comments on his shows, similar to Russell Brand, another former BBC DJ who has been accused of sexual behavior of sexual behavior Inappropriate.

“One of the most frequent concerns raised with me was about the references in Tim Westwood’s air to people’s bodies, and in particular the breasts of women, often because of euphemism,” he said. The report review team had “heard a selection of 1xtra Drivetime programs, within which there are multiple examples of Tim Westwood talking about people’s bodies in the study with him and referring to his breasts using words like ‘rack’ , ‘pile,’ pile, ‘and’ those two things under your blouse ‘”.

However, he pointed out that Westwood BBC colleagues had not made accusations of “inappropriate sexual contact” and that their language had not been considered a “sexual advance.” The conclusion of the report includes a “number of observations on the deficiencies of the policies and practices of the BBC at that time, such as not having a system to consider all relevant problems and concerns among them.”

The review, which cost £ 3.3 million ($ 4.1 million), did not sign the general director of the BBC, Tim Davie. Davie was responsible for the radio production of the BBC between 2008 and 2012, but White concluded that he had “a very limited participation with Tim Westwood or with problems related to him.” Davie was aware of at least one complaint of the audience about Westwood in April 2010, during which a listener expressed concerns about Westwood discussing “red velvet cake” as a reference to a sexual act. Westwood received a warning at that time that the strong sexual hint was “unacceptable”, but it was not said that Davie was in favor of giving him a final warning.

The Board has now asked the BBC executive team to respond and establish how policies and practices have changed in the 12 years since Westwood left the BBC and what additional measures could be taken.

He also requested a culture review in the workplace ongo In a leadership position in the BBC they must continually strive. To make it better. “

He added: “The Board also wants to take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of the entire BBC to any person affected by what the review has found. His voice has been heard and the findings of the review will further feed the impulse to ensure that it does not happen again. ”

The review occurred after BBC News and The Guardian published accusations about Westwood’s behavior during his time working for the BBC between 1994 and 2013, and was delivered to the police before publication to ensure that he does not harm the investigation.

The report was first commissioned in 2022 and it was expected to take six months to complete, but it was delayed several times As new accusations came to light. White said he had presented extracts from his report draft to Westwood and his legal team.

Westwood’s lawyers made White clear that he denies accusations of criminal misconduct and another and “confirms that he has never had any sexual interest in children under 16 years.” His lawyers declared that he never acted in a “predatory and/or sexual way” and “did not present (and not) any risk for young women, in the BBC or other places.”