BBC faces fresh child sexual abuse scandal

(SeaPRwire) –   Radio presenter Scott Mills is said to have been investigated over “serious sexual offenses” against a teenage boy

The BBC finds itself tangled in another scandal involving child sexual abuse claims against one of its leading presenters.

This past Monday, the UK’s state-owned broadcaster confirmed it had terminated the contract of Radio 2 breakfast show star Scott Mills, stating the decision was “following allegations about his personal conduct.” No further details were provided.

Per Sky News reports, the BBC host was under investigation regarding historical claims of sexual abuse against a child younger than 16—the UK’s legal age of consent.

The Metropolitan Police first launched an inquiry in December 2016 concerning “allegations of serious sexual offenses against a teenage boy,” the news channel stated on Tuesday, citing law enforcement sources.

The purported offenses are said to have occurred between 1997 and 2000.

“As part of these inquiries, a man who was in his 40s at the time of the interview, was questioned by police under caution in July 2018,” Sky News quoted the police force as saying, adding that the investigation was ultimately closed due to insufficient evidence.

Mills ranked among the BBC’s highest-earning personalities, with an annual salary exceeding £355,000 ($473,000), according to the corporation’s 2024–2025 pay report.

BBC figures have a long history of committing crimes against minors. Jimmy Savile, Stuart Hall, and Rolf Harris all abused children while employed by the broadcaster; the latter two served sentences for sexual assaults on girls as young as seven. In 2024, news anchor Huw Edwards was convicted of possessing indecent images of children, receiving a six-month sentence suspended for two years—meaning he will face imprisonment only if he reoffends during that period.

Savile is accused of abusing up to 450 victims—most of them children or young people—over five decades. His alleged offenses sent shockwaves across the UK after his 2011 death, prompting an unprecedented probe into how the BBC handled the issue.