The BBC has denied that former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is entitled to any damages after he filed a High Court claim alleging distress and harassment over a delayed data request. Wallace, 60, was sacked from the BBC show in July following an investigation that upheld 45 out of 83 misconduct allegations against him.
In his legal claim, Wallace sought up to £10,000 in damages, arguing that the BBC failed to comply with a subject access request for copies of his personal data, causing him distress and harassment. The BBC, however, has filed a defence denying that Wallace suffered any distress or harassment as a result of its responses.
Jason Pobjoy KC, representing the BBC, stated in court documents: 'It is denied that the claimant has suffered any distress or harassment as a result of the responses of the BBC. It is denied that the claimant is entitled to any damages, interest or other relief, whether as pleaded or otherwise.'
The BBC admitted that Wallace wrote to the organisation in March requesting his personal data, and that it did not provide a substantive response within three months due to the complexity of the request. However, the BBC eventually responded in October with a copy of the data, which the broadcaster's solicitor argued demonstrates that Wallace has no basis to claim damages.
Wallace's barrister, Lawrence Power, countered that the BBC had 'wrongly redacted' information and 'unlawfully failed to supply all of the claimant's personal data'. He argued that the delay and failure to fully comply with the request caused distress and harassment. The case continues.
