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Daily Mail Benches Star Columnist Over Bizarre Sex Claims

The star tabloid journo has been accused of creating a fake identity online to trick men into sending him sexually compromising images.

MailOnline, the digital news hub of the Daily Mail, has paused Dan Wootton’s column while it investigates a series of bizarre “double life” allegations against him. Wootton, best known for breaking the news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “Megxit” from the royal family, has been accused of creating fake identities to trick and bribe men into sending him sexually compromising images. Byline Times first reported that the star reporter targeted media colleagues and friends for more than a decade while posing as a fake agent named “Martin Branning.” Wootton has denied any criminal wrongdoing but acknowledged “errors of judgment.” In a statement, the Mail told the Press Gazette: “The allegations are obviously serious but also complex and historic and there is an independent investigation underway at the media group which employed him during the relevant period. In the meantime, his freelance column with Mail Online has been paused.” The Daily Beast’s media newsletter Confider reported last month that Wootton’s attorneys fired off a legal letter to U.K. newsrooms cautioning against publishing what they described as “false allegations.” Earlier this week, Confider reported that Mail staffers had begun urging management to cut ties with the famed columnist.