The BBC has reportedly refused to unveil how much licence fee money has been spent on the corporation’s recent spell of bullying probes. According to The Sun, the broadcaster has rejected an appeal for information on conduct following recent bullying claims at BBC Breakfast, citing the fear of “causing distress” to staff. The morning news programme has made the headlines in recent months following the well-publicised claims made against hosts Charlie Stayt, Naga Munchetty, and editor Richard Frediani.
As part of a 10-page response to the publication, The Sun claims that if the BBC were to confirm it held records about complaints, HR processes, or budget spent on alleged bad behaviour, it would be in breach of data protection law. The broadcaster now faces accusations of abusing privacy rules as a shield to avoid scrutiny of how licence-fee money is being spent.
READ MORE: Jeremy Kyle savages BBC in brutal TalkTV rant - ‘Always saying they’re skint’
READ MORE: BBC The Traitors star's transformation leaves fans speechless
In the lengthy response to the outlet, the BBC said: “If any appropriate HR procedures have been followed, the individuals concerned would also have a reasonable expectation that the BBC would not confirm or deny this to the public in response to an FOI request, particularly as this information is not already in the public domain.
“Therefore, confirming or denying whether internal disciplinary procedures have been followed in relation to identified individuals would be a significant intrusion of privacy. A public confirmation or denial of this nature is also likely to cause significant distress to the identified individuals.”
The BBC was asked how many complaints had been made about Munchetty, Stayt, and Frediani since 2020, whether any were upheld, how much more money has been spent on HR reviews, investigations, or lawyers, or which external law firms may have been paid with licence-fee money.
A TV insider told The Sun: “This feels like a publicly-funded organisation using privacy law as a shield to avoid scrutiny. The BBC is effectively saying licence-fee payers have no right to know how much their money is spent cleaning up internal issues.
“The BBC keeps talking about their ‘distress’, but what about the distress of staff who felt bullied or intimidated?” When approached for a comment, a BBC spokesperson said: “We take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously.
“We will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values and have robust processes in place to address this. More broadly, we do not comment on individual HR matters.”
It comes after an internal review into a series of high-profile controversies, including bullying allegations and inappropriate conduct by prominent figures like Huw Edwards, Gregg Wallace, and Tim Westwood.
The BBC has already invested heavily in its investigations, spending over £1.3million on previous investigations. In 2013, the public-funded corporation spent more than £5million on three inquiries linked to the Jimmy Savile scandal.