Entertainment

Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct by more women

A woman has alleged Tim Westwood had sex with her when she was 14 – and is one of several women who have now come forward with claims of sexual misconduct against the DJ.

Westwood, now 64, was in his 30s when he had sex with the then teenager for the first time, she told the BBC and the Guardian, which have been investigating the former Radio 1 presenter.

Representatives for the DJ did not respond to Sky News’ request for comment on the latest claims, but he has previously “strongly” denied any wrongdoing.

Ten black women have now made allegations against the DJ since an initial investigation by the two news outlets was made public in April – featuring claims that Westwood abused his position in the music industry to take advantage of seven women in their late teens or early 20s.

Of the 10 latest claims, four of the women say they were under 18 when the alleged incidents happened, while six say they were young adults. None of the alleged incidents were reported to the police and all but one of the women have asked to remain anonymous.

Aside from two friends, the women who have now come forward are not known to each other and have never met, the BBC and Guardian have said.

In a statement in April, a spokesperson for Westwood said: “Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

“In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially.

“Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.”

The BBC, where Westwood worked as a presenter for 20 years, subsequently revealed it had received six complaints against him, including one referred to police.

A report on the BBC’s “full deep dive” investigation into the complaints is set to be delivered within the next two weeks.

Claims about the DJ’s behaviour towards young black women he met through his work in the music industry had circulated on social media for some time.

The 64-year-old was an early champion of hip-hop in the UK and hosted the first nationally-broadcast rap show on UK radio from 1994.

He left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years, joining Capital Xtra to host a regular show on Saturday nights, where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”.

He stepped down from the Capital Xtra radio show “until further notice” after the initial allegations were made public in April.

Representatives for Westwood did not respond to requests from the BBC and the Guardian following the latest allegations, the news outlets said.

However, in its report, the Guardian said: “Westwood has strongly denied the allegations of the seven women who featured in the original investigation in April.

“Lawyers acting for Westwood said at the time that he was a well-respected and highly successful DJ. They said he denied in their entirety the serious allegations being made against him, saying they were false and defamatory, and said he wanted to make clear that he did not behave in the manner described.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have said, we are taking this incredibly seriously and want to understand exactly what happened with regard to the BBC. We are fully investigating and will publish findings in the next two weeks.”

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