When will BBC's internal probe into 'sex pics scandal' conclude?

As the pressure mounts on BBC to expedite the probe into the 'sex pics scandal', the UK broadcaster has refused to give a timeline, saying it's “impossible” to predict a timescale.

British media has been gripped in recent days by a report in The Sun newspaper that cited the young person's mother as saying a BBC presenter paid the now 20-year-old 35,000 pounds ($44,828) for photos over three years beginning when they were 17.

The presenter, who has not been named, was suspended on Sunday following the claims.

Many people have raised this issue, asking how long the BBC's internal investigation will take to conclude while the scandal takes a dramatic turn on Monday.

"You've got to make sure that it is thorough, that you are being absolutely fair to the employee concerned but equally time is of the essence," HR advisor Dulcie Swanston told the British state media.

"So, I really feel for the people who are doing this because they are doing this with an additional pressure.

"Believe me, when I've done investigations like this they are hard enough without the additional pressure of being scrutinised by people who actually don't have the expertise to scrutinise it."

Twist in BBC scandal

Allegations that an unnamed BBC presenter paid a young person to pose for explicit photos are "rubbish", a lawyer acting for the young person has told the broadcaster in a letter.

The lawyer said the young person sent a denial to the Sun newspaper on Friday evening, when it first published the allegation, saying there was "no truth" to it, the BBC said.

A spokesperson for Rupert Murdoch's Sun tabloid said in response to the BBC report: "We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child.

"Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns.

"It's now for the BBC to properly investigate."

BBC News said it did not know the identity of the young person and had not spoken directly to them, nor had it seen the Sun's evidence.

Earlier on Monday, British police said they were assessing information provided by the BBC about the claims, but there was no investigation into a crime at this stage.

The age of consent for sex in England is 16, but images of someone under 18 can be considered child pornography. London's Metropolitan Police said detectives from its specialist crime command held an online meeting with the BBC earlier on Monday.

"There is no investigation at this time," the police said.