The BBC presenter at the centre of a sex scandal is facing a fresh set of allegations, as the Prime Minister urged any other potential complainants to come forward.
The new case involves a second individual in their early 20s, who claimed to have been contacted anonymously by the presenter via a dating app and then subjected to “threatening” and “abusive” messages.
BBC News, which reported the claims, said it had seen the messages and had verified that they were sent from a telephone number belonging to the presenter.
Rishi Sunak, who is attending the Nato summit in Vilnius, declined to comment on any specific allegations, but the Prime Minister’s press secretary urged any alleged victims to come forward.
He said: “In general, anyone who has been a victim in the nature of these allegations … of course, we would call on those people to come forward to ensure that they are supported and their claims looked into.”
The fresh claim came as the BBC faced criticism over alleged failings in its handling of the first complaint.
When parents approached the BBC on May 19 alleging an inappropriate relationship between their child and the presenter, the corporation did not raise the matter with the presenter.
Despite identifying the matter as “serious”, the BBC’s corporate investigations team made only two attempts to contact the complainants – one email that drew no response, and a telephone call that did not connect – and did nothing else for seven weeks until the parents went to The Sun newspaper.
The presenter was finally spoken to on July 6, in response to The Sun story, which alleged that the presenter had paid £35,000 in exchange for sexually explicit images.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, said that protocols had been followed but that they were now under review.
He also said that he had not spoken personally to the presenter in question and did not intend to because his role is to “oversee the process”.
Jeremy Vine, one of the stars wrongly linked to the story on social media and subjected to online abuse, said the presenter should make their identity known.
Vine tweeted: