Scott Mills investigated in 2016 over sexual offence allegations against teenage boy

The BBC dismissed radio presenter Scott Mills on the same morning news emerged of his connection to a Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy, with corporation staff notified by email only after the story had already broken publicly.

The Metropolitan Police opened the inquiry in December 2016 following a referral from another police force. A spokesperson confirmed the investigation "related to allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy" and that the alleged offences "were reported to have taken place between 1997 and 2000," a period corresponding to when Mills first joined BBC Radio 1.

The Mirror reported that Mills was questioned by police under caution in July 2018. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a man in his 40s was interviewed under caution at that stage, though the formal police statement did not identify the individual by name. A full file of evidence was subsequently compiled and submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Being questioned under caution is a formal step in English criminal procedure: it signals that a person is regarded as a suspect, that anything said may be used in evidence, and that the interview forms part of a formal investigation. It does not constitute a charge or any finding of wrongdoing.

The CPS concluded the case did not meet the legal bar required for prosecution. The Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the CPS "determined the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges" and that "following this advice, the investigation was closed in May 2019."

The BBC acted six years after that closure. An unnamed source told the Mirror the corporation moved "quickly and decisively" last week following a complaint. The BBC is understood to have updated the accuser following Mills' dismissal and to have remained in contact with him. The news of the 53-year-old's dismissal broke publicly before BBC staff had been informed, with the corporation notifying employees by email after the story had already circulated.

Whether the BBC knew of the 2016 investigation at the time it was opened has not been established. The three years between the Metropolitan Police opening its inquiry and the CPS advising its closure in May 2019 passed without any public acknowledgement from the corporation of the probe's existence.