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Cleese says MSM’s failure to investigate Wootton allegations is ‘final proof of their complete corruption’

TV presenter Dan Wootton has admitted “errors of judgment” following Byline Times reports into his conduct, but denied “criminal allegations”.

He used his self-titled GB News show to brand claims that he used a pseudonym and offered colleagues money for sexual material “simply untrue”.

The publishers of MailOnline, where he writes a column, and his previous employers at The Sun newspaper said they are looking into allegations made against the New Zealand-born star.

Wootton, 40, said: “I, like all fallible human beings, have made errors of judgment 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.”

Commenting on the matter, comedian John Cleese urged the “mainstream press” to “check out” the allegations, saying the media’s failure to investigate the story will be “final proof of their complete corruption.”

Cleese will soon start hosting a GB News show, which he has previously joked will be for the “much neglected demographic” of viewers “who are completely out of touch.”

“If they [the mainstream press] give this the ‘Boris’s phone’ treatment, it is final proof of their complete corruption,” added Cleese on Twitter, as he retweeted an account promoting the investigation into Wootton.

The story has come to light after similar allegations about Huw Edwards and Philip Schofield were widely reported.

A DMG Media spokesman said: “We are aware of the allegations and are looking into them.”

A spokesman for News UK, publisher of The Sun, said: “We are looking into the allegations made in recent days. We are not able to make any further comment at this stage.”

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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