Former BBC DJ Tim Westwood charged with multiple rape and sexual assault offences

Former BBC DJ Tim Westwood faces alleged offences dating from between 1983 and 2016. Photo / Getty Images

Tim Westwood, the former BBC DJ, has been charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault.

The Metropolitan Police said Westwood, 68, faced four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault against seven different women.

The alleged offences date from between 1983 and 2016 and include the indecent assault of a 17-year-old girl in Fulham in 1983, the indecent assault of a 20-year-old woman in Vauxhall in 1986, and the rape and indecent assault of a teenager in London between 1995 and 1996.

They also include the rape and indecent assault of another teenager in London between 2000 and 2001, the rape of a woman in her 20s in London in 2010, the sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in Stroud in 2010, and the sexual assault of woman in her 20s in Finchley in 2016.

Westwood is scheduled to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on November 10.

Investigation launched in 2022

Lionel Idan, the Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Tim Westwood for a series of serious sexual offences.

“Our prosecutors have established that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”

Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, of the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “It takes courage to come forward and report allegations of this nature. The women who have done so have put their trust in us and we continue to provide them with all available support.”

Scotland Yard launched an investigation in 2022 following reports in the media that a number of women had come forward to allege historic abuse. The investigation was led by the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, and the DJ was questioned by detectives twice the following year.

Westwood, the son of a bishop, started his career in pirate radio before launching a rap show on BBC Radio One in 1994. In 1999, he was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, south London.

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