Nicky Campbell has revealed a Twitter troll who falsely accused the broadcaster of paying £35,000 for sexual images has been cautioned by the police and made a settlement.
The Radio 5 presenter was amongst a group of male BBC bigwigs who were falsely named after it emerged that a presenter had allegedly paid for explicit photographs.
In reality, Huw Edwards, who resigned from his role at the cooperation on medical grounds earlier this year, was the subject of the claims.
His identity, however, was only revealed after days of fierce speculation online that suggested Campbell, along with Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine and Rylan Clark could be the individual behind the report.
Campbell, 63, said last July that he had contacted police about his name appearing online in connection with the story, and was talking with his lawyers about the defamation.
Nicky Campbell (pictured leaving Broadcasting House last July) has revealed a Twitter troll who falsely accused the broadcaster of paying £35,000 for sexual images has been cautioned by the police and made a settlement
The defamatory tweet that was sent in July 2023 which resulted in the unnamed individual receiving a police caution and paying a settlement to Campbell
Now, just over a year since the scandal first broke, Campbell has revealed he has received a letter of apology from the individual
One of the most wide-spread tweets, saw an individual picture Campbell on X, previously known as Twitter, along with a Tweet that read: ‘This is the BBC host who paid teenager for sexually explicit photos.’
Now, just over a year since the scandal first broke, Campbell has revealed he has received a letter of apology from the individual, who remains unnamed, who wrote the defamatory post.
The letter in part read: ‘I accept that this allegation was wholly untrue and ought not to have been made. I understand and deeply regret the distress and harm my unfounded allegation has caused you.
‘I sincerely apologise to you and your family for the harm and distress caused by tweet. I made a terrible mistake in publishing it. This is something that I will forever regret, and I hope that you will be able to accept my apology.
‘I undertake to you that I will never publish any statement about in the future, whether relating to this matter and my defamation of you, or otherwise.’
‘I am also extremely grateful to you accepting this apology and payment for an agreed sum to avoid the need for a court proceeding,’ the letter added.
It is unknown how much money Campbell received in relation to the police probe, however, the individual was also given a caution by officers.
Sharing the update on social media tonight, Campbell said: ‘Some news. At the time of the Huw Edwards story many malicious communications were made on Twitter/X.
Huw Edwards was last seen on the screen on July 5 last year when he covered King Charles’ visit to Scotland (pictured)
Britain’s most famous newsreader covering the Queen’s state funeral on September 19, 2022
‘Thanks to amazing people on here, we eventually traced this guy. He got a police caution and now a record. They can run…’
In April Campbell had appealed to online sleuths to find a web troll who had smeared him after X was unable to trace the individual behind the account, which meant the police could not take formal action.
Last year he spoke about a ‘distressing weekend’ he suffered after he was forced to clear his name following the allegations that he was the presenter involved in the BBC row.
After days of conjecture – and Edwards’s name being mentioned repeatedly on social media –Edwards’s wife Vicky Flind issued a statement to say the father of five was ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ and receiving in-patient hospital care.
The BBC One’s News At Ten presenter last made an appearance on July 5 last year where he presented a special edition live from Edinburgh where the King was honoured.
Britain’s most famous newsreader – known for breaking the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and covering both Prince William and Prince Harry’s weddings – stepped down in April this year because of ‘medical advice’ from his doctor.
Campbell denied to comment when approached by MailOnline.