Overview

• The BBC apologized for not doing enough to protect four female staff members from harassment by former presenter Alex Belfield.
• Belfield, previously with BBC Radio Leeds, was jailed in 2022 for stalking broadcasters, including Jeremy Vine, who described the abuse as 'Olympic-level stalking.'
• The four women—Rozina Breen, Elizabeth Green, Stephanie Hirst, and Helen Thomas—faced years of online abuse but were not adequately supported by the BBC before 2019.
• The broadcaster has since introduced measures such as an online abuse reporting tool, expanded mental health resources, and improved internal investigations.
• Indefinite restraining orders were issued against Belfield, who was cleared of stalking charges against the women but found to have waged a campaign of harassment.