BBC journalist Arif Ansari to go on trial accused of naming Rotherham grooming victim

Mr Ansari denies the charge, which is over a news bulletin delivered by another journalist

Arif Ansari is head of news at BBC Asian Network (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

A senior BBC journalist is to go on trial accused of allowing a victim of Rotherham grooming gangs to be identified.

Arif Ansari, 43, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with “including information in a news report that was likely to identify a person believed to be the victim of a sexual offence”.

He denies violating the automatic lifetime anonymity granted by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992.

Mr Ansari, who is head of news at BBC Asian Network, was issued with a written charge over a news bulletin delivered by a different journalist earlier in the year.

The defendant, of Herne Hill in London, pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in January 2019.

The BBC has apologised for the “serious mistake” and criticised the decision to prosecute Mr Ansari because of his role as line manager, rather the wider corporation.

The National Crime Agency’s ongoing investigation into the Rotherham grooming scandal has revealed that more than 1,500 girls and young women may have been abused in the Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013.

Five men have so far been convicted over the abuse and several court cases and investigations are ongoing.