Latest updates: BBC boss to talk to media as corporation prepares to publish annual report after young person’s lawyer says story is ‘rubbish’
The work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, was on duty as face for the government in media rounds and was asked questions about the ongoing scandal at the BBC.
The cabinet minister urged people to “resist… the urge to opine on” the allegations that a BBC presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit images, and about how the allegations are being dealt with.
Once it’s all over and concluded, I think that is most certainly the time to be looking at whether things were done correctly or not.
But at the moment, it seems to me this is a highly fluid, unknown situation and we should give the BBC a bit of space.
We don’t know enough of the facts to be able to start pointing too many fingers yet at the process.
I think we have to wait till this has played out as quickly and effectively as possible, and that’s what the secretary of state (for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) has been pushing for. And then we can start to make those judgments.
