Dan Wootton: Ex Sun showbiz editor says he is victim of ‘witch hunt’ over claims he offered cash for sexual images

GB News presenter Dan Wootton has claimed he is the victim of a “witch hunt” after he was accused of using fake online identities to trick men into sending him sexually explicit images in exchange for tens of thousands of pounds.

The broadcaster, who anchors the Dan Wootton Tonight programme and writes a column for MailOnline, rejected the allegations as “simply untrue” and a “campaign to destroy my life”, in a segment at the start of his Tuesday night show.

His remarks came a day after the Byline Times outlet published a number of detailed and serious allegations against Mr Wootton, claiming that it had evidence he had pretended to be a man named Martin Branning.

Byline Times claimed two victims made criminal complaints to the Metropolitan Police, based on Branning’s activities since 2019.

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Born in New Zealand in 1983, Wootton moved to the UK at the age of 21.

He joined the News of the World in 2007 and was the showbiz editor from November 2008 until the Rupert Murdoch owned paper shut in July 2011.

In 2012 he rejoined News UK, working for The Sun as a columnist before joining ITV as a showbiz reporter on Lorraine.

He was credited for breaking ‘Megxit’ as well as reporting on other high profile stories, including most recently the ITV Phillip Schofield scandal.

Both News UK – by whom Mr Wootton was formerly employed – and the MailOnline’s publisher have said they are looking into the allegations.

Contacted by The Independent following the publication of the Byline Times report, Scotland Yard said: “In June 2023, the Metropolitan Police was contacted with regards to allegations of sexual offences committed by a man.

“Officers are assessing information to establish whether any criminal offence has taken place. There is no police investigation at this time.”

Mr Wootton’s name has been trending on Twitter frequently in recent days, with posts on social media that make accusations against him gaining millions of views.

Shortly before Mr Wootton’s Tuesday night show, The Guardian also published a report which made similar allegations against Branning.

The paper reported that it had not been able to independently establish a link between Branning and Mr Wootton.

Speaking on GB News, Mr Wootton said: “These past few days I have been the target of a smear campaign by nefarious players with an axe to grind.”

He added: “I, like all fallible human beings, have made errors of judgement in the past. But the criminal allegations being made against me are simply untrue.

“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.

“But I have been thinking much over the past few days about the current state of social media, where any allegation can be made in an attempt to get someone cancelled, but it is impossible to defend yourself against thousands of trolls.”

Adding that he was “coming on air tonight with a lot of humility too”, he said: “Being in the middle of this witch hunt has made me think a lot about the sort of journalist and broadcaster I aspire to be – one focused on the massive political threats facing this country, not on personal attacks.”

It comes as suspended BBC presenter Huw Edwards is facing several allegations against him after being accused of paying a young person for sexually explicit photos.

Mr Wootton has previously been an editor for Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, and has edited The Sun’s ‘Bizarre’ showbiz column as well as having been the newspaper’s associate editor.

A spokesperson for News UK told The Independent: “We are looking into the allegations made in recent days. We are not able to make any further comment at this stage.”

MailOnline publisher DMG Media said: “‘We are aware of the allegations and are looking into them.”