THE Sun has been asked to set out what investigations are taking place at the newspaper into allegations made against its former executive editor Dan Wootton.
The New Zealander has been accused of offering colleagues money for sexual material although he has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The broadcaster admitted he has made “errors of judgement in the past” but said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “nefarious players”.
Both the publishers of The Sun and MailOnline said they are looking into the allegations against him.
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Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee has written to The Sun and the BBC about their "widespread coverage" of allegations made against presenter Huw Edwards.
Earlier this month, The Sun was the first to report claims that veteran BBC broadcaster Edwards paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.
The Sun editor Victoria Newton has been asked to explain what was done to verify the story and if there are any reviews or discussions ongoing about the newspaper’s procedures and reporting in this case and any wider lessons to be learned.
The letter, signed off by CMS chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage, said: “Our role is not to challenge individual stories or editorial decisions, but we would be grateful if you could set out the processes by which The Sun verifies any story it chooses to report, especially those where issues of privacy may be at stake.”
It added: “Given the concerns that have been reported about inaccuracies, changing narratives and lack of engagement with some of the parties involved in the case of Edwards, we would also be interested to understand what was done to verify this specific story and what, if any, reviews or discussions are ongoing about The Sun’s procedures and reporting in this case and any wider lessons to be learned.
"Since this story was reported, allegations have been made about a former employee of The Sun, Dan Wootton, who has been reported as being involved in payments for sexual material.
"We would be grateful if you could set out what investigations are taking place into this matter."
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