sacking

SCOTT Mills has been dealt with a fresh blow after his sacking from the BBC as his M3 bridge tribute has been permanently removed.

It was officially unveiled as The Scott Mills Bridge back in 2016 and a plaque was installed at Fleet Services on the M3.

His then BBC Radio 1 co-host Chris Stark and Welcome Break staff led a campaign to rename it after him.

However, after his dismissal from the BBC, the plaque has now been removed.

In official pictures obtained by The Sun, the plaque which was previously on a wall next to a set of stairs, has been taken down.

The black and silver frame previously said “The Scott Mills Bridge” alongside the Welcome Break logo and his signature.

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The Sun previously revealed that the bridge would be renamed as Welcome Break, who own the service station, want to disassociate themselves from Scott, 53, following the scandal.

A source explained last month: “It’s highly likely Welcome Break will rename the bridge in light of Scott being fired, especially given the nature of the allegations.

“It’s not a great look for them to be associated with any scandals.”

Scott was suddenly axed by the BBC with news of his sacking being made public last month.

He was last on-air as host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Tuesday, March 24, before a complaint arose.

BBC chiefs are understood to have taken swift action in sacking him thereafter.

The complaint is believed to relate to “serious sexual offences” against a teenage boy.

He was questioned by police under caution in 2018 – when he was in his 40s, the Mirror reports.

The interview was related to alleged offences which took place between 1997 and 2000.

The case was dropped in full due to a lack of evidence.

A source close to Mills — the BBC’s 11th highest-paid star — told The Sun: “Scott was told about the allegation in a meeting with senior staff present. He was tense.

“He has completely shut down now and no one can get hold of him. No calls, no messages — nothing.

“The people who know him are blindsided by all of this and they can’t get hold of him.”

An internal message was sent around Radio 2 after Mills’ exit was made public.

It was revealed last week that Sara Cox will take over as host of BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show.

She expressed: “There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed.

“It’s been a dream to host the Breakfast Show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me.

“I’ve had the most glorious seven years of my career on Teatime so thank you to my brilliant Teatime listeners who hopefully will join me at Breakfast for excellent music and all my usual nonsense plus some superstar guests.

“I honestly can’t wait to wake the nation up with the biggest most fun breakfast show ever.”

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer after the corporation made the decision to dismiss the radio star last month

The BBC has seemingly pulled episodes of Top of the Pops that featured Scott Mills from iPlayer. In yet another scandal for the public broadcaster, Scott Mills, a BBC radio favourite for decades, was axed from his role in March.

The Mirror revealed that the former BBC Radio 1 and 2 DJ was questioned in 2018 over the historical allegations of serious sexual offences, but the investigation – which began in 2016 – was closed in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The allegations are reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. The Metropolitan Police told the Mirror that the teenage boy at the centre of the investigation was under 16.

For more than 40 years, Top of the Pops was the BBC’s major music programme that showcased the acts who were in the charts that week and gave a platform to some of the biggest names in the industry, with the likes of The Beatles, Spice Girls and Madonna amongst countless others all having performed on it over the years.

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The programme, which ended in 2006, is still repeated regularly but now the The Sun has reported that the three episodes in which Scott, 53, served as host, have now been wiped from the corporation’s streaming service.

The episodes in question originally aired in 1999 and around that time, he welcomed the likes of Billie Piper, Mariah Carey and Westlife onto the show to perform their latest singles. The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment.

On Wednesday April 1, The Mirror revealed that the BBC was forced to terminate Mills’ contract after receiving compelling new information. The BBC then confirmed the Mirror’s report a day after it emerged that they knew of information relating to the police investigation. They pledged that they were “doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time.”

The Metropolitan Police said a man, who was in his 40s at the time of the interview in 2016, was investigated over allegations reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000. Today, BBC News reported that director general at the time, Tony Hall, was not aware of the allegations.

The investigation was dropped in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. As first reported by the Mirror, Mills was sacked over allegations relating to his ‘personal conduct’ after the final edition of his breakfast programme aired.

Following his dismissal, Mills issued a statement via lawyers thanking his well-wishers. He said: “I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss.”

On the police probe, he said: “The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation. In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

“An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence, which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully co-operated and responded to in 2018.”

He added: “Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.”

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