Jeremy Vine ‘disgusted’ by social media companies’ ‘lack of values’ over stalker videos | UK news

TV and radio host Jeremy Vine said he was “surprised at how difficult” it is to get social media companies to act in response to the video of his jailed stalker.

Former local BBC radio presenter Alex Belfield, 42, was jailed for five years and 26 weeks last Friday after being found guilty of running the campaign. against a number of figures from the world of radio broadcasting.

The jury found he caused serious distress or distress to the two victims and found him guilty of “simple” harassment against Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter Mr Vine and theater blogger Philip Dehaney.

Asked about the response from social media companies, Mr Vine told BBC Two’s Newsnight: “I’m surprised at how hard it is to get them to understand.

“So we went on YouTube and said, ‘Come on, what’s going on with this guy? You can’t just let him slander.’

“And then we said: ‘Okay, now on the basis of this video, this video, this video’ there is a defamation case – they still don’t take them down.

“Eventually I will have to go through a lawyer, they shoot individual videos and then when he is convicted they demonetize him. But half of the videos about me are still there.

“His method was to say ‘copy and share’ so you would have someone take a video of him in Moscow and post it. It will always be there, I have to live with it.

“But the fact that YouTube is posting these things, they are not responsible. They don’t care. They are not worried. Pardon my language, but their lack of values ​​makes me uncomfortable.

“And Twitter too. He’s in jail and he still has a Twitter account. What the hell is this about? I don’t understand.”

Mr Vine said Belfield posted a video “saying he will be back at work soon”.

Mr Vine also said both victims and their friends had flagged Belfield’s content in a way that was “continuous” and “constant”, with one person even going to YouTube headquarters to ask reception if they could do something.

“It’s not a mystery to them which accounts are problematic and they just have to delete them,” he said.

Twitter declined to comment, and YouTube also reached out for comment.