CPS to consider charges against Tim Westwood over sexual misconduct allegations

Content Warning: This article includes accounts of sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is considering bringing charges of sexual misconduct against former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.

The decision will be based on a dossier of evidence submitted by the Metropolitan police into multiple allegations of abuse occurring between 1982 and 2016.

Now 66, Westwood has been accused of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and of abusing his power when he was at the height of his career in the music industry.

The well-known hip-hop DJ has “strenuously” denied the claims.

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy said: “A file of evidence has now been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and our team continues to make enquiries, with support from prosecutors. We will thoroughly and properly investigate sexual offences as part of our commitment to making London safer for women and girls.”

And a spokesperson from CPS said: “We can confirm we received a file from the Metropolitan Police Service regarding allegations of non-recent sexual offences allegedly committed by a man in his 60s.”

Prosecutors for the CPS will now decide whether to bring charges against Westwood.

The allegations were initially investigated by the BBC and The Guardian in 2022 in an external review examining Westwood’s conduct during his 19-year career at the BBC, after it received complaints of sexual abuse from six women.

These included one woman who accused Westwood of subjecting her to "unwanted oral sex" when she was just 17 and he was 30, while another woman claimed that she was just 14 when the presenter allegedly first had sex with her.

Although the report is completed, it has been delayed from publishing due to the ongoing police investigation, during which Westwood has been interviewed on four separate occasions.

In June, the BBC revealed it has spent £3.1 million on a freedom of information request.

Westwood began his career at a local radio station in London, before landing a show on Capital FM in 1987.

He then moved to the BBC in 1994, presenting the Radio 1 Rap Show and a drivetime show on Radio 1Xtra.

In 2013, he returned to Capital FM, continuing there until 2022 when he stepped down from his Capital Xtra show, due to the allegations.

(Via BBC)

AFEM sponsor a confidential support service for anyone affected by sexual harassment within the Electronic Music Industry

Health Assured provide the service to ensure confidential expert counselling and a safe and supportive environment for anyone who has been affected and needs guidance and support. Call 0800 030 5182, (Outside the UK: +44 800 030 5182) where trained experts will listen and support

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram