UPDATE 3:30pm: Chris Evans has now quit his job as host of Top Gear following the police investigation.
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Top Gear host and BBC supremo Chris Evans is being investigated for sexual assault, police confirmed today.
The Metropolitan Police released a statement saying that they are investigating the beleaguered presenter over an alleged offence that took place in London in the 1990s.
The revelation confirms exclusive reports by Heat Street this weekend, which told how officers were preparing to question Evans.
A statement from the Met today said: “An allegation of non-recent sexual assault was made to police on May 23.
“The allegation was made by a woman against a man, and relates to incidents in Tower Hamlets in the 1990s.
“There have been no arrests and no person has been interviewed under caution.”
The move raises serious questions for the BBC, which teeters on being plunged into a fresh scandal.
In May, shortly before the allegation was forwarded to police, Heat Street told how a former colleague claimed that Evans flashed his penis at her and grabbed her breasts relentlessly for the two years they worked together.
In an exclusive interview, she said: “He often said I was crap at my job and he would sometimes grab my breasts. I became totally desensitised to his behaviour.
“He would scream and shout and swear at me if I told him something simple such as reminding him he was due on air in 10 minutes’ time.
“He would be abusive. Sometimes I was on my own with him, sometimes not. All I was thinking was that I had to do my job and make sure everything was going efficiently.”
She added: “He might have thought what he was doing was amusing, but like a lot of bullies he cloaked it in a joke. Bullies make out that you’re not being fun if you’re not being part of that joke.”
Evans appeared to respond to Heat Street‘s story this morning on his Radio 2 programme. He told listeners: “Ask anyone I’ve ever worked with at Radio 2 if I’ve ever been bullying. Go on. Ask them. Yes, I lose my rag.
“But not like I used to. I used to be a big shouter and screamer. But I don’t bully people. And I didn’t get my willy out.”
He has yet to respond to confirmation of the police investigation.