Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Baroness Karren Brady, formerly the vice-chair of West Ham United, was aware that the club’s co-owner David Sullivan had been barred from contacting the women’s and youth teams due to safeguarding concerns. Despite this knowledge, she chose to continue working alongside Sullivan for approximately three years, according to information obtained by the BBC. Brady, aged 57 and widely recognized for her role on BBC One’s *The Apprentice*, has had a longstanding professional relationship with Sullivan spanning nearly 40 years, including 16 years at West Ham.
In response to a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and *The Times*, which revealed allegations of sexually exploitative and predatory behavior against Sullivan, Baroness Brady’s legal representatives stated that she remained at the club out of respect for the “presumption of innocence.” They denied any hypocrisy in her decision to stay involved with the club while also being a vocal advocate for women’s rights. The lawyers emphasized that Brady had “no knowledge” of the allegations exposed by the investigation and was not involved in, nor did she witness, any of the incidents mentioned in the reports. Sullivan has firmly denied all allegations.
Brady’s lawyers confirmed that she was informed in July 2023, following a complaint received by the Football Association (FA) relating to an historic allegation from the 1980s, that the FA had raised concerns about Sullivan. However, they clarified that she was not part of the decision-making process that resulted in restrictions being placed on Sullivan’s access to West Ham’s women’s and youth teams. Instead, Brady’s role was described as overseeing the club’s safeguarding procedures to ensure all established protocols and confidentiality requirements were upheld. She continued her duties at West Ham until stepping down suddenly in April 2026, shortly before the end of the football season.
Further correspondence from Brady’s legal team underlined her reliance on the principle of innocent until proven guilty as the basis for her continued work at West Ham during the ongoing investigation. When questioned about a potential conflict between her support for women’s rights and working for Sullivan despite the safeguarding issues raised, her lawyers dismissed the notion of any contradiction. They stated, “There is no inconsistency or hypocrisy between our client advocating for the protection of women and respecting the confidential safeguarding investigation and process that was being managed by the appropriate safeguarding professionals and statutory authorities.” Baroness Brady’s association with Sullivan extends back to her earliest roles with his sports newspapers and her appointment as managing director of Birmingham City in 1993, followed by her vice-chair position at West Ham after Sullivan’s purchase of the club in 2010
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.