BBC employee was ‘warned off making bullying complaint about DJ Tim Westwood’: Former Radio 1 colleague felt pressure from bosses not to take action over ‘unacceptable’ behaviour

• Ex-colleague said they were ‘warned against taking further action’ against DJ 
• The staff member claimed the culture at Radio 1 was like a ‘sexist boys club’
• It comes as six misconduct allegations against Tim Westwood are being probed

A former BBC employee was ‘warned off making a bullying complaint about DJ Tim Westwood’ over his ‘unacceptable’ behaviour. 

The ex-colleague claimed they were ‘warned against taking further action’ against the presenter and described the culture at Radio 1 as a ‘sexist boys’ club’ during Westwood’s 19 years as a DJ.

A BBC executive is alleged to have said they would ‘work out what next steps might be needed’ – but after the employee spoke to another senior boss, they were told to be ‘really careful about saying the term ‘duty of care”. 

The former employee, who has not been named, said they felt they were being ‘silenced’. 

It comes after the BBC revealed it was reviewing six misconduct complaints against DJ Tim Westwood, including one that has been referred to the police.

A former BBC employee was ‘warned off making a bullying complaint about DJ Tim Westwood’ over his ‘unacceptable’ behaviour, it has been claimed. Pictured: Westwood Global’s Make Some Noise Night in November 2017

In an alleged email to a BBC executive that was seen by The Guardian, the staff member wrote: ‘I have already had a conversation with you about the ongoing difficulties we’re having with Tim’s staffing/duty of care. We’re in a real pickle now as essentially, there’s no one who wants to work on that show.’ 

A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We are taking this incredibly seriously and want to understand what happened with regard to the BBC. 

‘At the beginning of the month we confirmed we had received a number of complaints relating to allegations of bullying and sexual harassment. As we have set out we are fully committed to investigating them and when that work has concluded we will publish findings.’

Despite insisting it wasn’t aware of any concerning behaviour, the broadcaster now say they have received a number of bulling and sexual misconduct accusations lodged against the DJ.

Former Radio 1 DJ Westwood, 64, denies any wrongdoing – and the BBC’s director general Tim Davie said earlier this year that he had ‘seen no evidence of complaints.’ 

But now six allegations, relating to the period from 1994 to 2013, are being probed as part of a review launched into Westwood’s career at the broadcaster.

The claims relate to his alleged bulling and sexual behaviour – with some referring to his conduct outside of the BBC.

Some of the complaints were in the past and were found in BBC files – including the one referred to the police.

The ex-colleague claimed they were ‘warned against taking further action’ against the presenter and described the culture at Radio 1 as a ‘sexist boys club’ during his 19 years as a DJ. Pictured: At the Snoop Dogg in concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire in Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 2010

Regarding the issue that was referred to the police, the spokesperson added: ‘This is an historic case that the BBC has found in its files. 

‘We are establishing the facts around it. It did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.’  

The BBC did not say whether the other five other complaints were received before or after Mr Davie’s statement was issued in April. 

And the broadcaster said Mr Davie had set out the position as he understood it at the time.   

A BBC spokesperson previously said: ‘As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so. 

‘People have now done so and we will continue to investigate. We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn’t concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.’

This comes after the Guardian and BBC published testimonies in April from seven women who made allegations of predatory sexual behaviour against Westwood.

In a response, a spokesperson for the DJ said at the time that he vehemently denied the allegations.

They said: ‘Our client confirms that there has never been any complaint made against him, whether officially or unofficially, relating to claims of inappropriate behaviour of the nature described.

‘No complaint has ever been made to the police, and nobody has ever raised these matters, or any colourably similar, with him directly or with his representatives.

Westwood (pictured) has denied all allegations that were lodged against him

‘There has been no investigation in relation to him of any nature whatsoever, whether by the police, his employer or indeed any other authority.’

Earlier this year, Westwood was heard in unearthed clips urging a fan to stay in her bra as he ogled her on stage in the BBC3 film Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power. 

The DJ was accused of groping black women at gigs in the scathing documentary.

The 64-year-old son of the former Bishop of Peterborough was filmed cat-calling a woman as she scrambled to cover up as he shouted from the decks: ‘Yo baby you don’t have to put your top back on’.

He was also caught clutching a woman while looking down her top and asking: ‘I like your rack – is it real?’.

The documentary also showed him refusing to let go of a woman’s arm after he apparently whispered something sexual in her ear while backstage at a festival.

And another clip shows Westwood interviewing rapper Cardi B during a 2017 interview for Capital FM.

The American artist asks him: ‘Do you have sex with a lot of like, you know, black girls?’ Westwood replied after a pause: ‘Not as much as I’d like to’ in an interview where he was accused of being inappropriate towards the star.

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