MPs ask The Sun for update on Dan Wootton investigation after allegations
Several allegations have been made against Dan Wootton involving catfishing for sexually explicit images. (Getty)
The Sun has been asked to update MPs on what – if any – investigations are being made into its former journalist Dan Wootton, following a series of allegations against him.
The chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Tory MP Caroline Dinenage, wrote to Sun editor Victoria Newton about the newspaper’s coverage of allegations BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, as well as claims made against its former employee Dan Wootton.
In the letter, Dinenage notes that GB News presenter and MailOnline columnist Wootton – who edited the Sun’s Bizarre column from 2014 before being promoted to associate editor – has been accused of being involved in making “payments for sexual material”.
The committee’s letter reads: “We would be grateful if you could set out what investigations are taking place into this matter. I’m sure you will recognise how important it is for the public to have confidence in a newspaper’s editorial standards, not only on this particular case but across all its reporting.”
The allegations against Wootton were made by unnamed former colleagues and his former boyfriend, Alex Truby.
Both Truby’s and the other accusations were made public in a piece for Byline Times on 17 July, after the news outlet revealed the culmination of a three-year investigation into Wootton’s alleged behaviour during the past decade.
Following the Byline Times piece, The Guardian said it had also been working on a several-years-long investigation into claims made against Wootton.
Addressing the allegations live on GB News, the presenter described the accusations as a “smear campaign by nefarious players with an axe to grind”.
Wootton claimed Truby had been on a mission to “destroy [his] life” – which Truby denies – and that while he had made “errors” in the past, he had grown and changed.
“The criminal allegations being made against me are simply untrue,” he continued. “I would like nothing more than to address those spurious claims, I could actually spend the next two hours doing so, but, on the advice of my lawyers, I cannot comment further.”
Wootton has been a controversial figure in the media for his tabloid coverage of the personal lives of celebrities.
Prior to leaving The Sun, Dan Wootton was involved in reporting on TV presenter Caroline Flack before she took her own life in 2020, covering Phillip Schofield coming out as gay and extensively reporting on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship, which he has continued at GB News.
Dinenage also asked The Sun to explain how it verified allegations against Edwards which led to a major media storm culminating in Edwards’ hospitalisation.
The newspaper published an interview with the mother of a 20-year-old who alleged Edwards paid her child for sexual images. The young person later denied the claims.
The Sun did not name Edwards in its initial reporting, but his wife, TV producer Vicky Flind, identified him on his behalf after a week of intense speculation.
The letter read: “Given the concerns that have been reported about inaccuracies, changing narratives and lack of engagement with some of the parties involved with Mr Edwards, we would also be interested to understand what was done to verify this specific case and what, if any, reviews or discussions are ongoing about The Sun’s procedures and reporting in this case and wider lessons to be learned.”
