Scott Mills Issues Statement On BBC Firing And Previous Police Investigation

Scott Mills has spoken out for the first time since it was confirmed he had been fired by the BBC and would not be returning to host the Radio 2 breakfast show.

On Monday morning, the national broadcaster confirmed that Mills was “no longer contracted and has left the BBC”, following what was initially described in the press as “allegations about his personal conduct”.

It later emerged he’d been investigated and questioned by the police almost a decade earlier over “allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy”, who was under 16 at the time.

The BBC said on Wednesday: “What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts.”

“Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made,” they continued. “We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

On Wednesday evening, Mills’ team issued a statement to news outlets including HuffPost UK, which read: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this, the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018. As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges. 

“Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.”

He added: “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

Earlier this week, the BBC also issued an apology for failing to “follow up on” an additional allegation about Mills that was raised by a freelance journalist last year.

A rep for the corporation said: “We received a press query in 2025 which included limited information. This should have been followed up and we should have asked further questions. We apologise for this and will look into why this did not happen.

“More broadly, we would always urge anyone who has concerns or information to raise it with us.”