A leaked report by the corporation’s whistleblowing team, detailed that internal investigators examined 12 allegations of abuse and lack of action by management – finding there to be a “case to answer” in eight of these.
The 38-page report contains witness statements from Murley, as well as his colleagues and bosses at the station.
It notes that many of those who gave evidence did so anonymously for fear of retaliation.
Two of the claims relate to a particular colleague who on one occasion found his car blocked by Murley’s car in the office car park.
He allegedly said something to the effect of “fairy boy, you need to move your car”.
Murley reported that this staff member’s behaviour was widely known, but felt there was an onus on him to “laugh it off”.
He provided witness evidence for the two incidents involving this staff member and the report found there was a case to answer.
Murley reported that another staff member told a joke in front of colleagues, which included the homophobic slur “poof”. The report found there was a case to answer.
In a separate incident with a different colleague, Murley reported being in the staff kitchen talking about being able to donate blood after a change in the law – something he was previously unable to do as a gay man.
Murley claimed the staff member entered the kitchen and said: “I can understand why you were banned (from giving blood). Statistically, your lot are a lot more likely to die of Aids, that’s just a numerical fact.”
The report found that this incident was witnessed by two people, and there was a case to answer.
Murley also said he was receiving homophobic abuse in emails, texts, and phone calls from listeners – including one incident in which he received an envelope with Bible verses and homophobic remarks.
After approaching a senior manager, Murley claims he was shocked by the response – in which the manager said it was not his job to deal with the abuse, and the only solution he could offer was for Murley to be “less gay” on air.
For this claim, the report found that Murley had provided direct evidence. Five witnesses gave indirect circumstantial evidence that supported Murley’s claim he was not taken seriously.