The BBC sacked presenter Scott Mills after learning the alleged victim in the police investigation was under 16, it is understood.

It is not clear if BBC managers at the time of the investigation in 2017 knew the age - but current management only became aware in recent weeks and took action, BBC News understands.

In a statement earlier on Wednesday, the BBC said it was made aware in 2017 of the investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, but that new information had come to light in recent weeks that led management to sack him last Friday.

It comes after Mills released his first statement since he was sacked, saying he had "fully cooperated and responded" to the investigation at the time. The police investigation was closed in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The 53-year-old said: "Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 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."

He added: "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."

The allegations, first published in the Mirror, are reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000, police said, when Mills would have been in his mid-20s.

On Tuesday, the Met Police said the investigation involved allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy who was under the age of 16.

In his statement on Wednesday, Mills 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 cooperated and responded to in 2018.

"As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges."

In his statement, Mills does not address the substance of the allegations, provide any further detail about them or offer a denial.

He also does not go into what happened at the BBC and the reasons for his sacking.

The announcement that the former presenter had been sacked by the BBC caused shock among listeners, and led to mounting pressure on the broadcaster to explain what led to his sudden departure.

Earlier on Wednesday, the BBC confirmed it knew about the sexual offences investigation in 2017.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: "Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many.

"We also recognise there's been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.

"What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March."

The spokesperson added: "Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time."

BBC News understands that the director general at the time of the investigation, Tony Hall, did not know about the allegations.

It is understood that BBC bosses are working through records and approaching staff from the time to try to uncover exactly what was known about the police investigation back in 2017.

One question that needs to be established is whether Mills' bosses from that time, when he was on Radio 1, knew about the age of the teenage boy.

Would the information have been escalated to Hall if the teenager's age had been known? And should it have been escalated to him anyway?

While allegations of sexual offences are always serious, there was never an arrest or a charge. But the BBC and its actions nine years ago - or lack of action - has put it in the spotlight.

Last year the BBC launched a culture review which has led to a zero tolerance approach. So when the BBC's current management discovered the teenager in question was under 16, it is understood they felt the only option was to sack the presenter.

Mills's last Radio 2 breakfast show appearance was on Tuesday 24 March, when he signed off by saying: "Back tomorrow."

DJ Gary Davies started the show the following day by saying he was "in for Scott Mills", and has been covering the breakfast show since.

Davies and Radio 2's overnight presenter OJ Borg will cover the show over the next week, as speculation begins to mount over who will replace Mills.

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The case was dropped in 2019 after the CPS deemed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges, police say.

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