West Ham co-owner sues BBC for £150m after sexual misconduct allegations

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FT Desk

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan is suing the BBC for £150 million after a Panorama documentary outlined several sexual misconduct allegations against him.

In June, Predator: The Billionaire Football Boss and the Times revealed details of accusations of historical abuse from seven females, with the offences said to have started in the 1980s when the women were young and working at the Sullivan-owned Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.

The individuals allege that Sullivan engaged in sexually coercive and predatory conduct. They claim he used business meetings to pressure them into sexual acts, allegedly promising career advancement.

Sullivan has firmly rejected the allegations, stating that he "categorically" denies the claims. The accusations relate to the years during which he amassed his wealth through the pornography industry, newspaper publishing and football.

He resigned as joint-chair of West Ham after the accusations were made public.

The investigation also revealed that Sullivan has been banned from contact with West Ham's women's and youth teams.

“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media,” he said.

“After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.”

Sullivan has now made a claim to the High Court which accuses the BBC of “libel and malicious falsehood” in airing the documentary. It states the show caused Sullivan “grave, catastrophic, and irreparable harm” to his reputation and business interests, reports the Telegraph.

It states that the documentary's claims exposed the West Ham co-owner to “profound public hatred, universal ridicule, and global opprobrium”, as well as “immediate and severe commercial alienation, banking disruption, and quantifiable financial destruction”.

West Ham suffered relegation from the Premier League into the Championship last season and he was regularly there attending matches, even if he and other board members have been regular targets of criticism from the supporters due to their handling of the club.

A spokesperson for London Stadium said that "following media reports at the end of the season regarding a safeguarding matter being managed by the club, London Stadium sought further information to ensure it could fulfil its own safeguarding responsibilities".

London Stadium had asked that they be told in advance if Sullivan is planning to attend a match so that extra security can be put in place. West Ham told the stadium organisers that the "matter was investigated and that the club does not consider there to be an ongoing safeguarding risk associated with Mr Sullivan attending the stadium".

" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77gzjjmgleo" target="_blank">It had been recommended that Sullivan stay away from games due to "potential for demonstrations and anti-social behaviour by some spectators".