BAFTA has insisted that it had no knowledge of allegations against Noel Clarke before he was given the prestigious Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award earlier this month.
In an exposé published in The Guardian yesterday, the 45-year-old actor was accused by 20 women of misdemeanours including bullying, sexual harassment and covert filming - all of which he vehemently denies.
In the report, the newspaper claims that BAFTA was made aware of claims against Clarke 13 days before the ceremony took place but due to the anonymous nature of the claims, the organisation was unable to investigate further and decided to proceed with giving him the award.
On Thursday night BAFTA suspended Clarke's membership as well as his award, and in a new statement today has clarified its position on foresight of the allegations.
"To be very clear, we did not know about any allegations relating to Noel Clarke prior to the announcement of the OBCC award on 29 March," BAFTA said in the statement, which was also sent to all of its members.
"We want to reassure you that we have treated this matter with the utmost seriousness, care and proper process at every stage. The BAFTA Board of Trustees has remained right across this matter, has met a number of times and are fully supportive of all actions taken.
"The allegations against Mr Clarke are extremely serious and the behaviour they allege are contrary to BAFTA's values and everything it stands for. But no matter how abhorrent these allegations are, they cannot be dealt with without due process. BAFTA is an arts charity that is not in a position to properly investigate such matters.
"In the days following the announcement, BAFTA received anonymous emails of allegations in relation to Noel Clarke. These were either anonymous or second or thirdhand accounts via intermediaries. No firsthand allegations were sent to us. No names, times, dates, productions or other details were ever provided.
"Had the victims gone on record as they have with The Guardian, the award would have been suspended immediately. Noel Clarke's counsel received a legal notice to this effect. It was always very clear what our intentions would be.
"We asked for individuals to come forward with their accounts and identify themselves, as they have done with The Guardian, but due to the anonymous claims and the lack of firsthand specificity, we did not have sufficient grounds to take action."
ITV also moved to distance itself from Clarke today, axing the final episode of his week-long event drama Viewpoint and instead moving it to the ITV Hub.
Neil Wilkes
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