New Zealand journalist Dan Wootton has been suspended from his twice-weekly Daily Mail Online column amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
In July, it was alleged he inappropriately offered colleagues large sums of money for sexual material in a series of claims made online by his ex-boyfriend Alex Truby.
Truby claimed Wootton used a pseudonym and offered individuals money in return for their filming of sex acts.
Wootton is also under investigation by his former employers at News UK, which publishes UK tabloid The Sun, where he worked for more than a decade.
The Guardian reported the company had hired an external law firm to investigate the claims.
A spokesperson for DMG media, the parent company of MailOnline, confirmed to Newshub he would not be working there while the investigation continued.
"We are continuing to consider a series of allegations which Dan Wootton - who has written columns for MailOnline since 2021 as one of several outside freelance contributors - has strenuously denied. The allegations are obviously serious but also complex and historic and there is an independent investigation under way at the media group which employed him during the relevant period. In the meantime, his freelance column with MailOnline has been paused," the statement said.
Wootton spoke publicly about the claims made by his ex-boyfriend during his GB News show after news broke he was under investigation.
He claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign, saying it was "a witch-hunt".
"Who doesn't have regrets?," he said.
"I have made errors of judgement in the past but criminal allegations against me are completely untrue. It is impossible to defend yourself against thousands of trolls."
He has made no further comment regarding the allegations and subsequent investigations.
