BBC was aware of police investigation into Scott Mills in 2017, says firing was due to “new information”
The BBC has confirmed it was aware of a police investigation into broadcaster Scott Mills in 2017 and shed more light on his firing.
Mills, who hosted the flagship Breakfast Show on Radio 2, was sacked by the broadcaster on March 27th, which was made public on March 30th.
It then emerged that the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into Mills in 2016 in relation to historical sexual offences involving a teenage boy under 16.
Mills was taken in for questioning in 2018, before the case was dropped in 2019 due to a lack of evidence.
The BBC initially said his sacking was due to ‘personal conduct‘, before it emerged that he was previously at the centre of a police probe.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed earlier this week, “In December 2016, the Met began an investigation following a referral from another police force. The investigation related to allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy.”
The force continued, “These were reported to taken place between 1997 and 2000. As part of these enquiries, a man who was in his 40s at the time of the interview, was questioned by police under caution in July 2018.”
Now, a spokesperson for the broadcaster has said in a statement, “Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many.”
They continued, “We also recognise there’s been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.”
Explaining the reason why he was fired this week, the BBC added, “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 spokesperson also said, “Separately, 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.”
They went on to say that the BBC “are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time”.
The BBC’s acknowledgement that they were aware of the police investigation comes after The Telegraph reported that the broadcaster were contacted last year by former BBC employee Anna Brees regarding alleged “inappropriate communications” involving Mills.
The BBC apologised for not following up on the message, telling Sky News on March 31st, “We received a press query in 2025 which included limited information. This should have been followed up and we should have asked further questions. We apologise for this and will look into why this did not happen.”
Mills is yet to comment on his departure from the BBC.
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