Jeremy Vine has broken his silence on Scott Mills’ sacking (Image: Jeremy Vine)
Jeremy Vine has finally broken his silence on his former colleague Scott Mills after his sacking from the BBC. The presenter, who had worked with Scott for some time, admitted he was left in “shock and grief” after discovering that BBC had axed Mills. The broadcaster sacked the presenter after learning the alleged victim in a police investigation was under 16. The alleged offence is believed to have taken place between 1997 and 2000 when Scott was in his mid-20s.
In 2018, he was reportedly questioned by police under caution but it was not pursued by the CPS in 2010 due to a lack of evidence. Jeremy has explained that he did send his colleague a text after learning about the sacking. The TV host stated that Mills was a “popular bloke”. He text him to say: “I hold you in the highest regard and I wish you all the best.”
Scott Mills was backed by his former colleague (Image: Getty)
Speaking to The Telegraph, Jeremy went on to explain that he initially believed that his laptop had a virus when the news came through and said the whole situation was “draining and upsetting”. He also told the publication that while he wasn’t comparing the situation, a difference between Scott and former BBC presenter Huw Edwards was that “Huw was not a popular person. Scott was very well-liked”.
Jeremy previously spoke on the allegations on his 12pm radio show the day the news broke, but noted that he was “taken aback” by the opening story and said: “I had not heard anything about it until 17 mintues ago, when it was on the BBC website, and I only had the information that was given to you in the bulletin.”
He added: “I have nothing more, that it was allegations about Scott Mills’ personal conduct, which have led to him being sacked. I have no more than that. All right, on to today’s show.”
When Scott’s coworkers discovered the sacking there was utter shock around the newsroom, with BBC News correspondent Sima Kotecha saying it was “mega news” and they heard “gasps in the newsroom when people realised he had been sacked”.
She continued at the time: “We don’t know why he’s been sacked but we do know that it will surely be unwelcome news. The fact that the bosses had to do this means there must be something potentially very significant here to let one of their big names go. As I said, this is a huge name in the BBC.”
His replacement is yet to be confirmed by the broadcaster.
