Gregg Wallace is under investigation by his employer, MasterChef producer Banijay UK, over a spate of allegations that he made lewd and sexual comments to many women over the course of his television career. Further accusations of groping and touching, announced over the past 24 hours, have led to the suspension of Christmas programming by the BBC. As a sexual offences solicitor, I have dealt with hundreds of similar cases.
Questions will now, rightly, be asked about Mr Wallace’s conduct. If any evidence of impropriety - and especially criminality - is found, then he must be subject to a full and thorough examination by the law.
But no charges have yet been brought. No police investigation is taking place. The matter, as it presently stands, is purely civil - an issue of employment, not illegality.
Despite this, Mr Wallace is now being subject to something as severe as a prosecution, but without the means to defend himself. Colleagues have denounced him, campaigners have maligned him, and even the prime minister has gone on record to express his concern. At every step of this process, the BBC has dedicated hours of coverage, which in my view is slanted very much towards the presumption of guilt.
What is particularly interesting is how this is juxtaposed to the reasonableness and nuance shown by the BBC during the Huw Edwards scandal, a far more serious and criminal case.
I can only conclude that the criticism levied against broadcast executives by their decision to continue paying Mr Edward’s’ salary after his arrest - a legally sound approach, considering he remained ‘innocent’ until he had been found guilty at trial - has led to a gross and unethical overcompensation.
We have seen this before. Following Savile’s exposure and revelations of the BBC’s culpability in his crimes, Cliff Richard was libellously and unjustly hounded on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations of abuse for which he was never even arrested or charged. The BBC was sued - but still don’t know any better.
In my practice, I have represented many clients who have been accused of inappropriate activity in the workplace, but never arrested or charged. Often, my client was not even interviewed by the police. In most of these cases, allegations are made by a colleague or subordinate at work, with the employer - mindful of the reputational risk of being seen to ‘shelter an abuser’ - taking unilateral and punitive action. These people have their livelihoods and their reputations ruined, without any due process or means for redress.
Internal investigations are designed to protect the employer, rather than the accused. The public reaction to these allegations have been profound, and so I would anticipate executives actively seeking a report to secure Mr Wallace’s dismissal. Indeed, even if the internal investigation finds insufficient evidence to dismiss him, can we really say his reputation will be salvaged, after a period of such ferocious outrage?
Issues like groping and touching are evidently more serious than inappropriate remarks, and these will likely merit a police inquiry. Indeed, I anticipate that a police inquiry will be announced in the coming few days. But up until now, this 'case' has been confined to civil law - where the burden of proof is different, and the rules of evidence much more flexible. If Mr Wallace is to be held accountable for what he is accused of, then it is the criminal justice system that must do it.
As the facts are yet to be established, I would suggest that everyone shows caution in this case. Mr Wallace may prove to be a misogynistic dinosaur - and even a criminal - but he is still deserving of a fair process and the opportunity to clear his name.
And after all, it was just weeks ago that newspapers were rife with reports of the story of a young man who took his own life following an uninvestigated allegation, and the lessons that might be learned from it. So far, there seems little evidence that we have learned anything at all.
Marcus Johnstone
Solicitor & Managing Director
Marcus is a solicitor and managing director of PCD Solicitors, a nationwide criminal defence firm specialising in defending false allegations of sexual crimes.