GB News has said it is continuing to “monitor” allegations against presenter Dan Wootton but that they have not been “proved by an independent body”.
Wootton presents a self-titled show on the channel from Mondays to Thursdays.
In July, he told viewers he had made “errors of judgement” but strongly denied any criminality. The allegations include that he used fake online identities and offered money to media colleagues for sexually explicit material of themselves.
On Tuesday, the chair of the House of Commons media committee wrote to GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos to ask “what, if any, investigations or processes have been undertaken since the recent complaints about Mr Wootton were publically raised”.
Dame Caroline Dinenage noted in her letter that the Sun newspaper, for whom Wootton worked until 2021, has an “ongoing investigation into his alleged behaviour”. The publishers of Mail Online said in August that it had “paused” his column.
“Since then, we are aware that Mr Wootton continues to broadcast on GB News, and indeed discussed the accusations against him during a broadcast on the channel on 19 July 2023,” Dame Caroline wrote.
In his reply, Mr Frangopoulos said: “Serious allegations have been made against Dan Wootton, but, as far we are aware, none of these allegations have been admitted or proved by an independent body. GB News continues to monitor the situation.”
He added: “Were a formal complaint to be raised by a member of our staff, then GB News would, of course, take appropriate steps.”
On his show on 19 July, Wootton claimed he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “nefarious players”. At the time, the Metropolitan Police said officers were “assessing information to establish whether any criminal offence has taken place”, adding: “There is no police investigation at this time.”
— CutC by bbc.com
