Welsh billionaire David Sullivan sues BBC for more than £150m over allegations

Former West Ham co-chairman and Welsh billionaire David Sullivan is suing the BBC at the High Court for more than £150million over “defamatory” allegations made in a Panorama documentary, his lawyers have confirmed. In June, the BBC and The Times published the accounts of seven women who claimed Mr Sullivan engaged in sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour. The claims date back to the 1980s and 1990s when he owned the Daily Sport and the Sunday Sport tabloid newspapers.

Mr Sullivan has previously said he “categorically denies” the claims. He stepped down as joint chairman of West Ham shortly before the allegations were published to fight the “factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life”. On Thursday, a spokesperson for GSP Law, which represents Mr Sullivan, said it had been instructed to pursue a High Court claim against the BBC for more than £150m in damages over its publication of the allegations.

Court records show Mr Sullivan filed a claim for “libel and slander” against the BBC on Thursday afternoon, but no documents in the claim are available. The BBC declined to comment. Essex Police said it had “received some contact” following the publication of the allegations and that inquiries were ongoing. The Independent Football Regulator also said in August that its inquiries into Sullivan’s suitability under its Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) regime were “active and ongoing”.

Mr Sullivan remains West Ham’s second-largest shareholder, holding 40% of the club.