David Sullivan sues BBC for more than £150 million over ‘defamatory’ Panorama allegations

David Sullivan is suing the BBC at the High Court for more than £150 million over “defamatory” allegations made in a Panorama documentary, his lawyers have confirmed.

In June, the BBC and The Times published the accounts of seven women who claimed the former West Ham co-chairman engaged in sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour.

The claims date back to the 1980s and 1990s when Mr Sullivan owned the Daily Sport and the Sunday Sport tabloid newspapers.

Mr Sullivan has previously stated he “categorically denies” the claims.

He stepped down as joint chairman of West Ham shortly before the allegations were made public to fight the “factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life”.

In a statement announcing he was stepping down as chairman in June, Mr Sullivan said: “The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media.

“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 categorically deny these claims.”

In a further statement, he said he wished to “clarify recent media reports regarding a negotiated agreement with the Football Association (FA), which has been inaccurately described as a disciplinary ‘ban'”.

“In my entire 16 years at West Ham United I have never met any academy or women’s team players 1-2-1, therefore a negotiated and temporary agreement with the FA not to do so until the FA resolved an outstanding complaint in relation to a single anonymous complaint regarding an event in 1981 was entered into,” Mr Sullivan said, in the statement released through lawyers.

“The complaint had nothing to do about my time in football and it never happened. I saw it as a meaningless restriction, as it didn’t impact on my work in any way, therefore I accepted it for a quiet life.”

On Thursday, a spokesperson for GSP Law, which represents Mr Sullivan, said it had been instructed to pursue a High Court claim against the BBC for more than £150m in damages over its publication of the allegations.

Court records show Mr Sullivan filed a claim for “libel and slander” against the BBC on Thursday afternoon, but no documents in the claim are available.

The BBC declined to comment.

Essex Police said it had “received some contact” following the publication of the allegations and that inquiries were ongoing.

The Independent Football Regulator also said in August that its inquiries into Sullivan’s suitability under its Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) regime were “active and ongoing”.

Mr Sullivan remains West Ham’s second-largest shareholder, holding 40% of the club.