Doubt has been cast over the validity of allegations against a BBC presenter after a lawyer for the teen allegedly involved disputed their mother's claims.
A male presenter has been suspended over claims by a mother he paid a teenager more than $72,000 for sexually explicit photos.
In a letter to the broadcaster, the lawyer said the allegations reported by The Sun newspaper are "rubbish".
It said the young person sent a WhatsApp message to The Sun on Friday evening, saying their mother's statement was "totally wrong and there was no truth to it".
Despite this reported message, the lawyer said The Sun published its "inappropriate article" anyway.
"For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and The BBC personality, and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish," the letter reads.
The Sun responded by saying: "We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to The BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.
"Their complaint was not acted upon by The BBC.
"We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It's now for the BBC to properly investigate."
Meanwhile, British detectives met representatives of The BBC on Monday over the allegations.
London's Metropolitan Police Force said detectives were "assessing the information discussed at the meeting, and further inquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed.
"There is no investigation at this time," the force said.
The BBC said in a statement on Sunday that it "first became aware of a complaint in May" but that "new allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature".
The broadcaster said: "The BBC takes any allegations seriously, and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations." It said the corporation had also been in touch with "external authorities" but did not specify whether that was the police.
"This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances, and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps," The BBC said.
The presenter's name has not been disclosed because of British privacy laws. But that has not stopped fevered speculation on social media about the man's identity.
Several of The BBC's best-known stars spoke up to say it wasn't them and even threatened to take legal action against online accusers.
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