By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
According to breaking news reports, it appears that more people have come forward following Monday night’s Panorama documentary investigating former West Ham chairman David Sullivan.
News emerging within the last hour suggests Essex Police have been approached by a new party who did not feature in the documentary and are now exploring the information provided.
Essex Police confirmed there had been “some contact and enquiries into those are now under way” following the publication of the BBC Panorama and Times investigation on Monday.
Sullivan, who denies any wrongdoing, has faced significant scrutiny since the broadcast of the documentary, titled Predator.
Fallout Continues To Grow
The fallout from Panorama has been substantial.
It was subsequently revealed that West Ham had implemented a safeguarding arrangement which prevented Sullivan from attending women’s and academy fixtures at the club he jointly owned.
The restriction stemmed from an FA inquiry into historical allegations dating back to the 1980s.
It is now understood that these safeguarding concerns, rather than the Panorama documentary itself, may have prompted interest from the Independent Football Regulator regarding both Sullivan and West Ham.
Pressure Mounts From All Sides
The situation worsened further when former West Ham shirt sponsor BoyleSports moved to distance itself from the controversy surrounding Sullivan.
The company issued a statement expressing serious concerns following the latest revelations saying they were ‘extremely concerned’.
Taken together, the developments have placed Sullivan under increasing pressure and raised further questions for all parties involved.
Another Twist In The Story
Now the story appears to have taken yet another turn.
If reports are accurate, new witnesses may have come forward following Monday night’s programme and could potentially provide additional information to the authorities.
At this stage, it remains unclear what those enquiries involve or where they may lead.
However, what is clear is that the fallout from the Panorama documentary continues to evolve, with fresh developments emerging daily.
Hardly good news for West Ham. Implosion of a football club to satisfy the ambitions and pockets of third rate ‘journalists’.
Happy days – not.
I find it hard to see how sully thinks he is gonna sue the bbc for the program the other night. I am not a legal man but they seemed to say no more than he acted in sexually predatory ways. But it’s what will follow is what is important. It’s scandalous that Saville and Al Fayed only got properly found out after death. And only then we saw how many people had already reported their behaviour.
They had people protecting them as does Sulivan who will know his MO. I’m trying to think maybe there is someone who worked with him for about 40 years and maybe their career progressed because of Sullivans dodgy interview technique?
I think any attempt, without proof, of putting Saville’s name in comments is just asking for legal trouble.
I find it odd that he can be sentenced in the public eye, and have ramifications on his life,without ever actually having the accusations against him proved in any way.
This is a more of a philosophical standpoint because I think he is a grubby man and I would wager most of the things said did happen. But where is the burden of proof here? Women say it happened. And it was 30 years ago. Is that it? Me vs you and I win?
For the people it affects i hope they get justice as for we supporters of the club just be happy that this grubby man is no longer involved and never will be again in our club..yes he has shares but i am sure they will be sold shortly whilst he can make some money on them otherwise they will get diluted for sure and then he will receive very little…..in the long run we fans can hopefully once more just concentrate on what happens on the pitch.
If the allegations are ‘more of the same’ I’m not sure that it would move the dial significantly. Further more serious allegations might. As for more articles in the newspapers the same applies and they, with Sullivan with his finger on the Libel button, the Press will need to be very careful. Historical allegations can be extremely difficult to prove as they often descend into a ‘he said, she said’ mode.Sullivan is rich and wealth is useful when fighting any potential court battles.
It was always probable that there would be further allegations. There’s also the issue of investigative journalists will be working on this with whatever they find reported in this weekends Sunday newspapers.
We’ve probably only seen round one.