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The BBC has apologized and will pay damages to Benjamin Cohen and Anthony James, the heads of LGBT news site PinkNews, after falsely alleging sexual misconduct against them. At a High Court hearing in London, the BBC admitted that their December 2024 program "PinkNews: Behind Closed Doors" was false and defamatory. The couple’s lawyers stated that compensation will be paid to settle legal action and donated to charity. Additionally, the BBC apologized for an article making further allegations of inappropriate pressure on female staff regarding surrogacy. Cohen and James emphasized the distress caused by these false claims during a sensitive period as new parents.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The BBC was forced to pay damages to Benjamin Cohen, founder of PinkNews, and his husband Anthony James, the site’s chief operating officer, after falsely accusing them of sexual misconduct. The false allegations appeared in a December 2024 iPlayer programme titled PinkNews: Behind Closed Doors and an accompanying article. At a High Court hearing in London on Thursday, the BBC admitted that the claims were "serious, false, and defamatory," leading to an apology and compensation settlement. Cohen and James claimed they faced additional investigations due to these false allegations ahead of their parental order hearing for their son born via surrogacy. The couple plans to donate the compensation to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Charity. The controversial programme has since been removed from iPlayer.
Written for “BBC Settlement With LGBT Website” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 66681 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-08
The BBC has apologised and will pay damages to the heads of LGBT news site PinkNews after admitting 'false and defamatory' allegations of sexual misconduct.
asserted
BBC → apologise → misconduct
A programme added to iPlayer in December 2024 accused Benjamin Cohen and his husband Anthony James, the site's chief operating officer, of sexual misconduct towards junior staff at the company.
asserted
programme → add → company
At the High Court in London on Thursday, the BBC apologised for the programme, titled PinkNews: Behind Closed Doors, accepting the allegations were 'serious, false and defamatory' after the couple brought a libel claim.
uncertain
couple → apologise → claim
The couple's lawyers said the corporation will pay compensation to settle the legal action, which the pair intends to donate to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Charity.
asserted
pair → say → Society
The BBC also apologised for an article which made a further allegation that the couple had placed 'inappropriate pressure on young, female members of staff to act as surrogates for them'.
asserted
couple → apologise → them
Reading a joint statement between the couple and the BBC, the couple's barrister Lorna Skinner KC said: 'These allegations were false and extremely harmful to the claimants' reputations.'
Benjamin Cohen (left), the founder of PinkNews, and his husband Anthony James (right), the outlet's director, were accused of sexual misconduct
She said that because of the programme, the couple were subject to additional investigations ahead of a parental order hearing in respect of their son who was born by surrogacy.
asserted
who → read → surrogacy
Ms Skinner said: 'This caused the claimants considerable anxiety and distress during a time when they ought to have been able to focus on their newborn son.'
asserted
they → say → son
She said that Mr Cohen had felt he needed to resign as trustee of a disability charity and Dr James resigned as a non-executive director of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust because of the programme.
asserted
James → say → programme
Jane Phillips, representing the BBC, said: 'The BBC retracts and apologises unreservedly for the defamatory allegations made in the programme and the article.'
In a statement given to the Press Association, the couple said: 'The BBC ignored warnings about the veracity of these allegations and chose to broadcast false claims to millions of people.
'
uncertain
BBC → represent → people
When this began, we were new dads and our son was just six months old.
asserted
son → begin → ?
What should have been one of the happiest periods of our lives was instead thrown into chaos, impacting our business, our colleagues and our family.'
asserted
been → throw → business
They said: 'By falsely portraying us as engaging in sexual misconduct and pressuring female employees over surrogacy, the BBC reinforced one of the most damaging homophobic tropes: that gay men are sexual predators who pose a threat to others.
asserted
who → say → others
It took minutes for these false allegations to spread around the world, but nearly two years for the BBC to publicly acknowledge that they were false.
asserted
they → take → world
The BBC now owes licence fee payers an explanation of how such a serious failure could have occurred and what it intends to do to demonstrate that it remains fit for purpose.'
uncertain
it → owe → purpose
The couple added: 'Nothing can give us back the time we have lost, nor undo the impact this has had on our family.
asserted
this → add → family
But the record has now been set straight.
asserted
record → set → ?
The BBC has retracted them in full and apologised unreservedly.
asserted
BBC → retract → them
Today, we can finally begin to move forward.
'
asserted
we → begin → ?
The BBC, though, needs to carefully consider and learn from the impact that its reckless journalism has had on a young family's lives.'
asserted
journalism → need → lives
The Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment.
asserted
Mail → contact → comment
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