The allegations come after ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel Kyla Mullins were all questioned by MPs on the committee in June, following the events surrounding Phillip Schofield\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n
The presenter\u00a0admitted to misleading his employers regarding an affair with a former colleague at This Morning, and ITV was forced to clarify that it had investigated rumours of a relationship in 2020 but found no evidence<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a letter from Caroline Dinenage, Chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, to Dame Carolyn \u2013 dated 24th July but published today (9th August) \u2013 she wrote that a \u201clarge number\u201d of current and previous This Morning employees had since raised concerns about ITV\u2019s working culture to Parliament.<\/p>\n The letter reads: \u201cIn the month that has passed since your appearance before the committee, we have been contacted by a large number of individuals who have identified themselves as currently working or previously having worked on This Morning or as part of the wider ITV Daytime team.<\/p>\n \u201cThese individuals speak with great pride about working at ITV and are hugely positive about many of their colleagues. However, they also raise claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n It continues: \u201cSome of those individuals who have contacted us have described how their decision to raise concerns within ITV has led to further bullying and discrimination, and in some cases having to leave the organisation with a settlement agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n Dinenage went on to say that it is \u201ceasy to understand\u201d why these individuals left ITV and \u201cdo not wish to relive their traumatic experiences\u201d.<\/p> In her response<\/a>, Dame Carolyn asked the parliamentary committee to \u201cencourage individuals to contact ITV via our reporting line SafeCall\u201d, where reports could be made confidentially or anonymously, or directly to Jane Mulcahy KC, who is leading the external review after Schofield\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n Dame Carolyn continued: \u201cAs we made clear to you and the Committee, we are absolutely committed to enabling people to raise any issues or complaints they may have about working at ITV.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always take these seriously and will investigate and take whatever action is appropriate. However, we are unable to do so if we cannot engage with those people.\u201d<\/p>\n Schofield left This Morning in May<\/a>\u00a0and later\u00a0resigned from all of his ITV roles<\/a> after admitting to an affair with a younger male colleague.<\/p>\n At the time of the news, an ITV spokesperson confirmed that \u201cwhen rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated\u201d.<\/p>\n They also stated that \u201cITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour\u201d.<\/p>\n It continued: \u201cPhillip\u2019s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Dame](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/caroyln-mccall-itv-f31ab12.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Grazia")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"Phillip](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-1441839244-7af3983.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"ITV")
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