BBC presenter Tony Livesey, who appeared in the Panorama documentary which accused former West Ham United chair David Sullivan of being a sexual predator, has left the coporation.
Livesey stepped down from his position as presenter of alate night talk show on the BBC a matter of days after it was claimed he was a go-between for Sullivan while editor-in-chief of the 77-year-old's Daily and Sunday Sport publications.
And on Monday it was confirmed Livesey - a Burnley supporter - had left BBC Radio 5 Live after 16 years at the station. The BBC previously stated that Livesey had asked to take a break from presenting his programme while the issues raised by the investigation were being examined.
In an email sent to 5 Live staff on Monday morning, the station's controller Heidi Dawson said he had now decided to leave. "Tony has asked me to pass on his heartfelt thanks to the brilliant colleagues at 5 Live who he has had the pleasure of working with over the years," she wrote.
"I know many of you have also really enjoyed working with Tony, and we wish him well for all his future endeavours."
Livesey claimed he had "no recollection" of introducing the young woman to Sullivan - despite one unnamed individual claiming he had arranged a meeting in 1999 - and that it was "not part" of his job to do so, when asked to comment on the Panorama programme.
He also insisted that he had "great sympathy for a woman who may have become a victim", but rejected any suggestion that he had played "any role whatsoever in that scenario" and said he found the allegations "abhorrent".
The Panorama programme featured a number of women who alleged they had been victims of Sullivans. Sullivan denied the claims via a statement published on West Ham's website shortly after the show was aired.
"After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me," he said.
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