Nicky Campbell has revealed that a Twitter troll who falsely accused the broadcaster of paying £35,000 for sexual images has been given a police warning and has settled the matter.
The Radio 5 presenter was among a group of senior male BBC executives whose names were mistakenly published after allegations emerged that a presenter had been paid to be photographed for indecent photos.
In reality, the allegations were directed at Huw Edwards, who stepped down from his role at the Co-op earlier this year for health reasons.
But his identity was revealed after days of intense online speculation that Campbell, Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine and Rylan Clark were the people behind the reports.
Campbell, 63, said she reported her name to police in July last year after it appeared online in connection with the case and was in discussions with lawyers about defamation.
Nicky Campbell (pictured here as she left the station in July last year) has revealed that a Twitter troll who falsely accused the station of paying £35,000 for sexual images has received a police warning and settled the matter. The unnamed individual received a police warning and paid Campbell a settlement for a libelous tweet posted in July 2023. Exactly a year after the scandal was first reported, Campbell revealed she had received a letter of apology from the individual.
One of the most widely-circulated tweets featured a personal photo of Campbell on X (formerly known as Twitter), accompanied by the tweet: “This is the BBC presenter who paid teenagers for sexually explicit photos.”
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Now, exactly a year after the scandal first broke, Campbell has revealed that he has received a letter of apology from the anonymous person who made the defamatory posts.
The letter said: “I accept that the allegations are completely false and should never have been made. I understand and deeply regret the distress and harm my unfounded allegations have caused you.”
“I sincerely apologize to you and your family for the harm and distress this tweet has caused. Publishing this tweet was a huge mistake and something I will regret for the rest of my life. I hope you will accept my apology.”
“I promise not to make any further public statements, whether relating to this matter or my defamation against you or otherwise.”
“I am also extremely grateful that you have accepted this apology and the payment of the agreed amount to avoid court proceedings,” the letter added.
It is unclear how much money Campbell received in connection with the police investigation, but he also received a warning from officers.
Sharing an update on social media this evening, Mr Campbell said: “News here – there was a lot of malicious communication on Twitter/X at the time of the Hugh Edwards incident.”
Huw Edwards last appeared on television on July 5 last year, when he covered Prince Charles’ visit to Scotland (pictured). Britain’s most famous news anchor will be covering the Queen’s state funeral on September 19, 2022.
“Thanks to some fantastic people here we’ve finally been able to track this guy down. He’s been given a police warning and now he has a criminal record. They can get away with it…”
In April, Ms Campbell appealed for online detectives to find the trolls who had been slandering her after police were unable to take formal action as Mr X had been unable to trace the person behind the account.
Last year he spoke about the “horrible weekend” he experienced after being forced to rehabilitate following allegations he was a presenter involved in the BBC scandal.
After days of speculation and Mr Edwards’ name being mentioned repeatedly on social media, Mr Edwards’ wife, Vicky Flind, released a statement saying the father of five “suffers from serious mental illness” and is receiving inpatient treatment.
The presenter last appeared on BBC One’s News at Ten on July 5 last year, when he reported a special edition live from Edinburgh where the King was being honoured.
Britain’s most famous news anchor, known for breaking the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death and covering the wedding of Prince William and Prince Harry, stepped down in April this year on “medical advice” from his doctor.
Mr Campbell declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.