Scott Mills has broken his silence after the former radio presenter was sacked by the BBC over his “personal conduct”. It has since transpired that the star was previously questioned by the police over “sexual serious allegations” against a boy aged under 16, with the matter dating back to between 1997 and 2000.
On Wednesday, two days after his sacking, the 53-year-old broke his silence on the matter in a social media statement. In the message, he said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.
“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018. As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.”
He continued: “Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.
“I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”
Scott’s sacking
On Monday, the BBC confirmed that the presenter had been sacked. In a statement, they said: “While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted and has left the BBC.”
Scott last appeared on his Radio 2 show on Tuesday 24 March, signing off with: “See you tomorrow.” However, the next morning, Gary Davies was on air saying he was filling in for the usual host.
The following day, the Mirror reported that the Metropolitan Police had previously opened an investigation into the presenter in July 2018. Part of their statement read: “A full file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who determined the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. Following this advice, the investigation was closed in May 2019.”
In a new statement, the BBC have said they were aware that the presenter had been investigated, but said they had recently received “new information” in relation to the matter and “acted decisively”.
© Getty Images for BAFTAA spokesperson for the corporation said: “Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many. We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.
“What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March. The BBC has made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards. Last year, following an independent culture review, we set out the behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC and we were clear action would be taken if these were not met.
The statement concluded: “Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”
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