Violent BBC presenter broke his female colleague’s wrist in attack ‘hushed up by bosses’: Corporation faces new cover-up claims following Scott Mills and Huw Edwards scandals

The BBC has been accused of covering up the scandal after claims a presenter broke the wrist of one of her female colleagues during a physical altercation.

The Mail on Sunday understands bosses were made aware of the violent attack but failed to report it to the police or even take any disciplinary action against high-profile staff. He then continued to work for the publisher for several years.

A source told the MoS: ‘He grabbed her by the wrists, crossed her and then threw her to the ground. A doctor’s report was given, but no one did anything. “It was an incident that was covered up by the BBC.”

The BBC has faced controversy for its failure to investigate and take action against Jimmy Savile, newsreader Huw Edwards and DJ Scott Mills.

Senior MPs on Saturday lashed out at the Corporation over the MoS’s latest revelations.

Conservative MP Greg Stafford said: ‘We should not be very surprised given the BBC’s record of cover-ups, but the fact that appropriate action was not taken against this individual at the time this incident was said to have occurred belies our belief.

‘One person breaking another’s wrists is assault and the BBC should have called the police if such an allegation was made. But it appears BBC bosses have once again chosen to sweep a very serious issue under the carpet rather than tackling it properly.’

The Mail on Sunday knows the identities of the two people involved but has decided not to reveal their identities. Both have since left the Company for reasons unrelated to the incident.

The attack, which required the woman to be hospitalized, is thought to have occurred around 2014.

BBC bosses are understood to have summoned the employee on several occasions to discuss her alleged behavior at work after several make-up artists reported possible evidence of alcohol and drug use.

It was also learned that he was arrested for an unrelated incident while he was working at the channel and was released without any charges.

However, BBC management chose not to sack him and instead continued to give him what they believed to be ‘undesirable’ changes in the hope that he would decide to leave.

The source added: ‘The BBC could see where it was all going but they were hoping he would leave of his own accord.

‘This was hardly a decisive action. He managed to stay for years. The BBC was his shield because it gave him credibility.’

This is the second allegation of a cover-up of staff behavior to hit the broadcaster in as many weeks.

Just last month the BBC was criticized for admitting it knew police were investigating former Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills over allegations of sexual offenses in 2017. The broadcaster took no action against Mills after the police decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case and Mills was neither arrested nor charged with any offence.

Former radio presenter Scott Mills was sacked by the BBC in March over historic allegations of serious sexual offences.

Disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 2024 and later pleaded guilty to charges involving indecent images of children.

He was sacked by the BBC in March this year after it was discovered the complainant was under 16 at the time.

The broadcaster has also faced harsh criticism for its lack of transparency regarding the Huw Edwards affair. It has been revealed that he continued to pay the BBC Six and Ten O’Clock News presenter for several months after he was arrested on child abuse graphic charges.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children in July 2024 and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, in September 2024.

Sources at the BBC say the broadcaster has failed to act decisively against staff accused of serious crimes because it is more concerned with protecting its own reputation. They say this ‘sweep everything under the rug’ strategy has repeatedly backfired and the Company has come under further criticism when serious misconduct or crimes are exposed.

Given a series of scandals, BBC bosses have become increasingly sensitive about confidential information about employees being made public.

The MoS can reveal on Thursday that BBC News’ program director John McAndrew wrote a letter to the company’s staff telling them to refrain from sharing “unsubstantiated allegations about colleagues without their consent”.

Mr McAndrew mentioned that ‘the number of situations where confidential information is shared externally is increasing’.

Last year the BBC laid out new ‘behavioural expectations’ for all staff following a review of the culture at the Corporation and insisted ‘clear action will be taken if these are not met’.

A spokesman for the BBC declined to address specific allegations about the male presenter who allegedly assaulted his female colleague. He said: ‘While we do not comment on individual employment matters, the BBC has robust processes in place to maintain our standards.’

It confirmed that the male employee at the center of the allegations had left the BBC.