BBC presenter quits after Panorama investigation into David Sullivan | Football | Sport

BBC host Tony Livesey will not return to his Radio 5 Live show after stepping away in June, following a Panorama investigation into David Sullivan. In a letter sent to Beeb staff on Sunday, seen by The Mirror, the BBC confirmed that Livesey would be leaving after 16 years with the radio station.

Heidi Dawson, Controller, BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “I wanted to let you know that Tony Livesey has decided to leave his presenting role on 5 Live. Tony has worked at 5 Live for 16 years and was the first voice for us on air as we launched from our new home in Salford. Tony built a loyal late night audience, often with our greatly missed colleague, Rachael Bland, at his side.

“He went on to be the voice of our iconic Drive show for 10 years where he was at the heart of our coverage of Brexit. He reported from the Falkland Islands and RAF Akrotiri, and was a key part of our presenting team at the London and Paris Olympics as well as hosting our Wimbledon coverage for six years. Tony grew Drive’s audience, particularly through Covid alongside Anna Foster with positive stories of hope that the audience were desperate to hear.

“Tony has been at the heart of our coverage of every major news and sporting event for a decade and a half. He won prestigious ARIAS and APA awards for his reporting about how it feels to lose your mum as a child, and an ARIAS Gold award after he was asked by Dame Deborah James to conduct her last ever interview.”

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The decision to conclude his presenting duties arrived nearly two months after the airing of the Panorama investigation into Sullivan and his conduct towards women during his ownership of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport.

Sullivan “categorically denies” the allegations and announced his resignation as West Ham director to contest what he described as false allegations.

Tony Livesey served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers – alongside Sullivan – before joining the BBC, where he secured his own programme on 5 Live in 2010.

On June 9, the BBC released a statement confirming that Livesey had “asked to step back from presenting his radio show for a short period” while management was “considering the matters raised by the programme”.

Livesey, 62, has not hosted his late-night 5 Live programme, broadcast between 10pm and 1am, since June 8.

He rose to become editor-in-chief at the Sport titles, having begun his career as a reporter, spending 18 years with the organisation before departing two decades ago in 2006 to focus on forging a broadcasting career at the BBC, which also involved presenting the North West edition of their regional football show Late Kick Off.

Sullivan, 77, has stated he “categorically denies” the claims in the joint investigation with Panorama and The Times.

In a statement, he said: “After very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as joint-chair and director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect.

“This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward.”

He added: “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.”

He continued: “I believe the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media”.

“I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libellous allegations. None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football. I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations.”