N9V TV
Former BBC and Capital Radio DJ, Tim Westwood has been interviewed under caution by Met detectives for a series of five sex offence complaints over a 34-year period.
The 65-year-old was questioned first on March 15 and then again some two weeks later on April 4 by police.
All five of the allegations are said to have happened in London, with the first dated 1982 and the most recent 2016.
The time period covers his career both at the BBC and Capital FM.
A spokesman for the Met told MailOnline: ‘Police are investigating five reports relating to allegations of non-recent sexual offences allegedly committed by a man.
‘The offences are alleged to have occurred in London between 1982 and 2016.
‘A 65-year-old man was interviewed under caution on March 15, 2023, and April 4, 2023.’
In August the BBC said it should have further explored issues raised about Westwood during his time at the broadcaster, an internal review concluded.He has previously vehemently denied any wrongdoing or illegality. The BBC are currently probing six misconduct allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct against him.
The broadcaster has appointed an independent barrister to lead a broader review to ‘fully examine’ his conduct during the two decades he spent working there.
The veteran DJ, who left the BBC in 2013, stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra in April following accusations by several women of misconduct and predatory behaviour.
In July, the BBC said it had received six complaints against Westwood, including one that was referred to police, despite director-general Tim Davie previously saying he had seen ‘no evidence of complaints’.Last year a 40-year-old woman claimed the hip-hop star had been in a relationship with her when she was just a schoolgirl.
The alleged victim – who was known under the pseudonym Esther – said she felt the DJ groomed her and she was ‘prey’ to ‘predator’ Mr Westwood.
She said they began their relationship after meeting at a club night in Arch in Vauxhall in 1990, which developed into a sexual one when Westwood allegedly started kissing her before initiating unwanted sex.
Esther said their alleged underage relationship later led to her attempting to take her own life.
She said at the time: ‘I kind of thought it was normal but that’s because I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, she said.
‘It wasn’t a relationship and it wasn’t about love, it was just a thing, and a thing you couldn’t discuss with anybody.’
She added to the BBC she felt: ‘Disgusted. Angry. Upset. Dirty. Yeah, dirty. I wish I could pretend it never happened but it did.’
Westwood said in a statement in 2020 claims of inappropriate behaviour made against him on social media were fabricated, false, and without foundation.
He said: ‘I can categorically say that I have never had an inappropriate relationship with anyone under the age of 18.’
‘Esther’ is one of 10 women who have come forward to accuse the former Radio One DJ of sexual misconduct. None of the 10 initially reported the incidents to the police.
Another woman claims she was 16 when the renowned hip-hop DJ, who was in his 40s at the time of the alleged incident, kickstarted their ‘controlling’ relationship.
A third, who was 20 when she first met Westwood while he toured clubs and student unions across the country, claims he pushed his penis into her mouth despite her resisting.
Two more women claim they were sexually assaulted by Mr Westwood.
The new allegations had come forward as part of a BBC News documentary, entitled Tim Westwood: Hip-Hop’s Open Secret, that details more than two decades worth of sexual misconduct allegations against the DJ stretching from 1990 to 2012.
‘Lydia’, another woman claiming to have been targeted by Westwood, says she was approached by him during a night at Caesars club in Streatham, south London.
Although she was only 16 at the time while he was in his 40s, ‘Lydia’ and Mr Westwood allegedly began an 18-month sexual relationship in which he is accused of isolating her from friends and family.
‘It was quite controlling in lots of ways,’ she told the BBC.
‘I had a home phone, and he demanded to have the password to it so he would often listen to my messages.
I wish more people had stepped in, I wish the adults who were around him, the bodyguards, the secretaries, the people who I would say were bystanders.’
Seven women came forward to accuse the DJ of initiating unwanted sexual behaviour following a joint investigation by the BBC and the Guardian earlier this year.
Following the allegations, Mr Westwood resigned from his weekly Capital Xtra radio show ‘until further notice’.
A statement from a representative of Westwood in April last year 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.’
10 more women have since come forward to share their allegations against the DJ since the investigation broke in April. Several claim they engaged with Mr. Westwood while they were under the age of 18.
The DJ, who is the son of Bill Westwood, the former Anglican bishop of Peterborough who died in 1999, began his career on local radio before joining Capital Radio in London.
He was later given his own show by BBC Radio 1.
The radio presenter left Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra in 2013 after nearly 20 years and returned to Capital Xtra to host a regular show on Saturday nights, where he was referred to as ‘The Big Dawg’.
Be the first to comment