Tony Livesey has left his role as a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live after 16 years, following a Panorama investigation into David Sullivan. The BBC confirmed the departure in a letter to staff on Sunday, seen by The Mirror.
Confirmation of departure
Heidi Dawson, Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live, said in the letter: "I wanted to let you know that Tony Livesey has decided to leave his presenting role on 5 Live. Tony has worked at 5 Live for 16 years and was the first voice for us on air as we launched from our new home in Salford."
Dawson added: "Tony built a loyal late night audience, often with our greatly missed colleague, Rachael Bland, at his side. He went on to be the voice of our iconic Drive show for 10 years where he was at the heart of our coverage of Brexit. He reported from the Falkland Islands and RAF Akrotiri, and was a key part of our presenting team at the London and Paris Olympics as well as hosting our Wimbledon coverage for six years."
Career highlights and awards
"Tony grew Drive's audience, particularly through Covid alongside Anna Foster with positive stories of hope that the audience were desperate to hear," Dawson continued. "Tony has been at the heart of our coverage of every major news and sporting event for a decade and a half. He won prestigious ARIAS and APA awards for his reporting about how it feels to lose your mum as a child, and an ARIAS Gold award after he was asked by Dame Deborah James to conduct her last ever interview."
Livesey, 62, has not hosted his late-night show, broadcast between 10pm and 1am, since June 8. He had stepped back from presenting in June, with the BBC stating at the time that he had asked to step back for a short period while management considered matters raised by the Panorama programme.
Background and context
Before joining the BBC, Livesey spent 18 years with the Sport newspapers, rising to editor-in-chief, and worked alongside David Sullivan. He left in 2006 to pursue a broadcasting career, which included presenting the North West edition of the regional football show Late Kick Off.
The Panorama investigation examined allegations about Sullivan's conduct towards women during his ownership of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport. Sullivan has "categorically denied" the allegations and announced his resignation as West Ham director to contest what he described as false allegations.
In a statement, Sullivan said: "After very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as joint-chair and director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect. This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward."
He added: "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. I believe the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libellous allegations. None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football. I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations."
