West Ham United's leading shareholder David Sullivan is suing the BBC for £150million after he was accused in a Panorama documentary of preying upon and abusing young women.

The pornography entrepreneur stepped down as the Championship club's chairman this summer when made the focus of a programme called Predator: The Billionaire Football Boss.

Mr Sullivan announced two days before its broadcast that he would be quitting his formal West Ham role while also vowing to sue the corporation for libel.

He is now seeking aggravated damages in a new case being filed, it was reported today. 

Cardiff-born Mr Sullivan, 77, remains West Ham's largest shareholder, with it recently emerging he would increase his stake from 38.8 per cent to 40 per cent.

The club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season.

He has continued to attend the London Stadium following claims made in the Panorama investigation aired on June 8. 

Programme-makers quoted seven women, six of whom remained anonymous, who accused Mr Sullivan of abusing his power in 'casting couch'-style encounters.

Former models in their late teens or early 20s told of what they experienced when looking for work at the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers owned by Mr Sullivan.

They accused Mr Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including pressuring them for sex or oral sex during business meetings by suggesting it would aid their careers. He has denied the allegations.

The BBC also reported that Mr Sullivan had separately admitted to paying for sex in the 1990s with a girl who he understood to be 16 or 17 years old. 

He was in his 40s at the time, and it only became illegal to pay for sex with a 16 or 17-year-old in 2003.

Sacha Wall is the only alleged victim of Mr Sullivan's predatory behaviour who agreed to be named.

She claims that, as a 24-year-old aspiring model, Mr Sullivan tried to pressure her into a sexual encounter by suggesting it would advance her career.

Ms Wall said that in 1998, she was invited to Mr Sullivan's Essex mansion for what she had believed would be a business meeting.

She recalled being surprised to find him dressed very informally, in flip-flops, red shorts and a T-shirt.

Mr Sullivan leafed through her modelling portfolio while repeating 'very nice, very nice', in a way that made her uncomfortable, Ms Wall says.

She says he then instructed her to follow him upstairs and undress down to her underwear – which she did, because she was interested in seeking topless modelling work.

He then allegedly told her to come and sit next to him – at which point she moved away and put her bra back on.

When she told him she would not sleep with him, she claims he looked 'very shocked' and replied: 'What, not even a b**w job?'

Ms Wall said she was 'really scared' to find the door locked when she tried to leave, but that Mr Sullivan opened it when she demanded to be let out.

She later appeared in his Sport newspaper, but said she was often given the worst jobs.

A woman, whose name was changed to Anna by the publishers of the investigation, appeared in the Sport the month after her 17th birthday.

She entered the Miss Sport competition, which involved sending photos into the newspaper.

She was then invited to an event at an Essex nightclub, which she attended with her mother as a chaperone.

At the venue – where the entertainment included women dancing on tabletops surrounded by large groups of 'touchy-feely' men – she claims she was invited to go for a private chat with Mr Sullivan.

He allegedly asked the 17-year-old to give him a 'b**w job', promising he would make her a 'star' – but she refused.

Another alleged victim, whose name was changed to Florence, claimed that Mr Sullivan 'took away her innocence' when she was pressured into sleeping with him in 1999.

The Panorama and Times investigation also found that Mr Sullivan was banned from contact with West Ham's women's and youth teams for the past three years due to safeguarding concerns after a historical allegation into his alleged conduct was raised with the FA in 2023.

Mr Sullivan has denied the allegation and says he has never met any academy or women's player 'one-to-one' during his 16-year tenure at West Ham.

Mr Sullivan's business enterprises have included sex shops, 0898 chatlines, pornographic magazines such as Penthouse and the newspapers the Sunday Sport and the Daily Sport. 

In a statement published on West Ham's official website ahead of the Panorama broadcast, Mr Sullivan branded the BBC's claims 'entirely false' and 'sensationalised'. 

He said: 'I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication.

'I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality.'

He said he was stepping down as West Ham chairman 'to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations'.

He added: 'I have officially engaged my legal team and we are preparing to issue legal proceedings in respect of each and every false complaint that has been made against me. I will be seeking full redress, legally and publicly, on every single front.'

It was later revealed that police investigations going back 18 years, looking into sexual misconduct accusations against Mr Sullivan, were dropped without charge.

Reports also told how the Football Association took safeguarding action against him three years ago, stopping him from having contact with West Ham United's women's and youth teams.

Mr Sullivan described this as a 'temporary agreement' following an 'anonymous complaint regarding an event in 1981' which he said 'had nothing to do about my time in football and it never happened.'

Operators of West Ham's London Stadium home as well as the club's Fan Advisory Board have called for him to stay away from the ground.

But he was seen attending West Ham's home victory over Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup in August.

The suggested £150million lawsuit plans were reported today by the Telegraph. 

Mr Sullivan and the BBC have been contacted. The corporation said it did not wish to comment at this time.

Mr Sullivan's legal representatives GSP Law said: 'We have been instructed to issue and pursue a claim against the BBC for damages suffered by our client as a consequence of the publication of defamatory material in the BBC Panorama programme that was broadcast on 8 June 2026.

'The BBC was made aware of this intention prior to broadcast and have been informed that a claim has now been filed with the High Court.'