Pink News Founders Accused of Sexual Misconduct

If you haven’t heard of Pink News it’s an LGBT news site based in the UK. There are a few such sites but Pink News is the largest of them. It was founded in 2005 by Benjamin Cohen and Dr. Anthony James, a couple who still run it. Two weeks ago, a BBC Investigation revealed numerous allegations of sexual abuse at the company.

…multiple former staff members have told the BBC they had experienced bullying and sexual misconduct which made some of them feel unsafe to be alone around Mr Cohen and Dr James. Allegations of misogyny have also emerged and several people told us that some young female members of staff had been asked to act as the couple’s surrogates…

Five former members of staff told the BBC they had witnessed Dr James groping and kissing a junior member of staff, who they said was “too drunk to stand or talk” and “unable to consent”.

The alleged incident happened outside a central London pub, where staff had gathered after a PinkNews event.

A former PinkNews staff member, who we are calling Gary, said Dr James had led the junior colleague behind a tree. “Anthony was just forcing himself on somebody who wasn’t able to make that decision for themselves because of how intoxicated they were,” he said…

A complaint about the incident was made later by a staff member, and was shared with several members of the senior leadership team at PinkNews. The BBC has been shown multiple copies of the complaint but has been unable to establish whether any action was taken as a result.

After the allegations went public, more former employees came forward.

A BBC investigation spoke to more than 30 former and current workers at PinkNews, the world’s largest LGBT News website…

Following the publication of the investigation, more than 10 former PinkNews staff members have come forward to share their experiences of working there.

So this was not a one-off incident but seems to have been pervasive. Dr. Anthony James was suspended from his job with the NHS as a result.

As well as his role at PinkNews, Dr James also served part-time as an associate non-executive director in the NHS.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust told the BBC it was “aware of allegations made on the BBC against Dr Anthony James, associate non-executive director, in his role as PinkNews’ chief operating officer.”

A spokesperson for the trust added: “Following these allegations, we made the decision on Tuesday 10 December to suspend him from his associate non-executive role pending further information.”

Initially, Pink News said it couldn’t comment except to say that the founders denied the allegations. Last Tuesday, a week after the allegations were first aired, Pink News finally published a statement denying the claims made against them.

In August, we made a criminal complaint to the police in relation to alleged offences committed against us that are connected with these recent reports. As we told the BBC prior to its initial broadcast, a police investigation was ongoing and we were advised not to make comment. We are now aware that devices had been seized with forensic investigations continuing.

Despite the BBC being aware of the police investigation, it chose to broadcast and misled the public about our response. We have consulted lawyers in respect of these false, inconsistent and malicious allegations.

It’s a pretty vague denial which doesn’t touch on the specifics described by former employees. The future of Pink News now seems uncertain as even No. 10 Downing Street called the allegations concerning.

Six former prime ministers, including Tony Blair, Theresa May and Boris Johnson, have written for the website. Richard Branson, David Cameron and Alex Salmond are among those who have been honoured at the publication’s annual awards.

Now the mood has soured. Last week, Downing Street called the claims against Cohen and James “very concerning” and James was suspended from his role at the Bedfordshire hospitals NHS foundation trust.

The potential downfall of an influential title that bills itself as a safe space for LGBTQ+ journalists has caused dismay and sparked wider fears about the state of queer media in the UK.

“It’s horrific to hear these allegations, especially for the journalists working there. There’s not many LGBTQ+ publications in the UK, especially ones with this sort of financial backing and influence,” said investigative journalist Finbarr Toesland.

Here’s the BBC report which started all of this.