Jeremy Vine agrees deal with Twitter user who wrongly named him in BBC presenter row

Jeremy Vine has agreed a financial settlement with a Twitter user who falsely identified him as the BBC presenter at the centre of the Huw Edwards furore.

Vine was one of several BBC presenters, including Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell, who were forced to publicly deny claims on social media that they were the unnamed TV star facing the allegations.

On Sunday, Vine said he received an apology from a Twitter user who had “libelled” him by wrongly claiming he was the BBC presenter concerned.

Speaking of the Twitter user, 58-year-old Vine said: “He has now acknowledged that he was wrong, and has apologised.

“At my request, he has also agreed to pay £1,000 to @mndassoc rather than paying damages.”

On 8 July @AndyPlumb4 libelled me by alleging that I was the BBC presenter at the heart of a story in The Sun that day. He has now acknowledged that he was wrong, and has apologised. At my request, he has also agreed to pay £1,000 to @mndassoc rather than paying damages. pic.twitter.com/JAG4nfR9xu

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) July 16, 2023

Serious

Before Edwards was named by his wife as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images, Vine appealed on Twitter for the presenter to “come forward”.

He later said on his Channel 5 show: “It’s his decision, but he needs to come forward now, I think.”

Vine, who also hosts an afternoon programme on BBC Radio 2, added: “I had a situation: I was going to see Bruce Springsteen at the weekend and my wife said ‘Are you going to be safe there?’

“That’s how serious this thing is, and she gave me a baseball cap and said ‘You’d better wear this’.”

Similarly, BBC broadcaster Campbell spoke about his “distressing weekend” after he was also falsely named and forced to clear his name after allegations he was the presenter at the centre of the BBC furore.

The 62-year-old said he had contacted police about being falsely mentioned online in connection with the story and was having conversations with his lawyers in terms of defamation.

Conjecture

The BBC said it is continuing its “fact-finding investigations” into allegations against veteran broadcaster Edwards following the naming of the presenter by his wife on Wednesday night.

After days of conjecture and Edwards’ name being speculated about on social media, Vicky Flind issued a statement via the PA news agency to say the father-of-five is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is receiving in-patient hospital care.

Edwards is the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000–£439,999, putting him fourth on the top 10 list, the corporation’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.

The presenter was last seen on BBC One’s News At Ten on July 5 when he co-presented a special edition live from Edinburgh as the King was honoured in the Scottish capital.

The Metropolitan Police have said no criminal offence has been committed by Edwards and no further police action will be taken “at this time”, allowing an internal BBC investigation to resume.