Former BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills has confirmed he has been investigated over a sexual offence in his first statement since he was sacked by the BBC over allegations about personal conduct.
The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the 53-year-old in 2016 over allegations of serious sexual offences involving a teenage boy under 16 between 1997 and 2000.
The case was closed in May 2019 after the Crown Prosecution Service ultimately decided “the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges”
The DJ had his contract terminated over the weekend following an allegation relating to his “personal conduct”.
Mills said the announcement about his departure had led “to the publication of rumour and speculation”.
Discussing the probe, Mills said: “Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven 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.”
The allegations, first published in the Mirror, are alleged to have occurred between 1997 and 2000, police said, when Mills would have been in his mid-twenties.
The BBC has confirmed it knew about the police investigation into Mills in 2017 and “acted decisively” after receiving “new information” in the weeks before his sacking.
The corporation terminated his contracts on Friday, just days after taking him off air.
His sacking was announced on Monday.
Mills was questioned under caution by officers in July 2018 and The Sun has reported that Mills denied the claims at the time and informed the BBC.
The newspaper said BBC bosses decided not to take the then-Radio 1 presenter off air at the time and the case was dropped in May 2019 because of lack of evidence.
Hampshire Police said the sexual offences allegations were first reported by a third party in 2016, and that the force logged the details and passed on information to the Met for investigation.
The Met, which does not identify people under investigation pre-charge, said it closed its investigation in May 2019 after advice from the Crown Prosecution Service that “the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges”.
A BBC spokesperson 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 March 27.”
The BBC added: “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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