Former BBC presenter Scott Mills has acknowledged that he was the subject of a Metropolitan police investigation in 2016 into a historical sexual offence, in his first statement since he was sacked by the organisation.
The ex-Radio 2 Breakfast host has said he has been subject to “rumour and speculation” following the news he had been let go by the BBC on Monday.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mills said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.
“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018.
“As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.
“Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 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.
Mr Mills continued: “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.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the BBC admitted to knowing Mills was being questioned by police in 2017, more than eight years before he was sacked.
“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,” the BBC said in a statement.
The organisation confirmed the DJ was sacked after it “obtained new information” last week.
“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 27 March”.
The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday that Mills was investigated in 2016 in relation to alleged “serious sexual offences against a teenage boy”, telling ITV News the victim was under 16.
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A Met Police spokesperson said they couldn’t confirm the specific age of the victim due to the risk of jigsaw identification.
The revelation comes after Mills was reportedly sacked from his BBC Radio 2 job on Monday over allegations relating to “personal conduct”.
Mills was last on air on Tuesday last week.
“The BBC has made a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards. Last year, following an independent culture review, we set out the behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC and we were clear action would be taken if these were not met,” the BBC added.
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