The Sun has appointed the London law firm Kingsley Napley to “assist” on its investigation into claims that Dan Wootton offered colleagues tens of thousands of pounds for sexual material.
Responding to a query from a group of MPs, editor Victoria Newton said: “We take these allegations seriously but we are in no position to comment further and indeed we make no commitment to make any further comment depending on the outcome of our investigation.”
Wootton has denied criminality, although he has not addressed some of the claims, which are part of an investigation by the independent outlet Byline Times, such as his alleged use of the alias Martin Branning. The GB News broadcaster and former News UK journalist has set up a crowdfunding campaign to stop him “being cancelled by far-left online smears”. So far he has raised £37,000.
The MPs, who form the culture and media committee chaired by former minister Caroline Dinenage, also called on Newton to set out what was done to verify its story about Huw Edwards, the BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager for illicit pictures.
Newton told MPs The Sun has “strict editorial and legal frameworks”. She added: “This story was the subject of significant scrutiny pre-publication. The Sun has documentary evidence and had conducted interviews with many of the primary witnesses.” She did not address claims that the paper had received a denial from the victim before publication.
Dinenage has also written to the BBC for an update on its Edwards investigation.
Photograph GB News