In light of the recent allegations brought forth against former DJ John Peel, the BBC have announced that they will most likely drop the planned tribute they had arranged in his honour should the allegations that he impregnated a 15-year-old girl during the 70’s prove to be true.
The broadcasting corporation had plans to rename a section of the new BBC Broadcasting House after the late DJ, who died in 2004, but have now announced that should the accusation be proven against Peel then they will reconsider. A BBC spokesman said: "Clearly, in the event of proven allegations of sexual abuse the BBC would re-consider its decision on the naming of part of our new building."
After the revelations about the sexual antics of the late Sir Jimmy Savile last month, scrutiny has been placed on further DJs and presenters from the 60’s and 70’s about their sordid pasts. Peel is the latest person to face these accusations after a woman named Jane Nevin told the Daily Mail that she had had unprotected sex with Peel when she was 15, ultimately leading to her impregnation and later an abortion. Although Nevin never told Peel about the pregnancy and abortion at the time, she claims to have sent him a letter some 30 years later about the event, to which Peel replied, citing his relief that she wasn’t revealing that he had a secret love child.
Peel, himself a victim of sexual abuse whilst at school, had openly joked in the past that he "didn't ask for ID" whenever a young women tried to seduce him into bed.