Reporter who claims she was sexually assaulted accuses BBC of refusing to hand ... trends now
A journalist who went undercover as a model for a BBC expose in the 1990s has slammed the corporation for refusing to hand over vital evidence in her sexual assault case.
Lisa Brinkworth, 55, says materials she filmed while working for Donal MacIntyre Investigates in 1998 could help in her legal action against Gérald Marie, 73.
The former president of the European arm of Elite Models, Marie has been accused by fifteen women of sexually assaulting and raping girls as young as 14 because he thought virgins were 'unphotogenic'.
Ms Brinkworth's legal team believe that the vital evidence will stop her case being thrown out of the French courts.
Lisa Brinkworth said the BBC should cooperate with the alleged victims and hand over what her legal team believe to be 'objective' evidence
Gérald Marie, 73, has been accused of raping girls as young as 14 while president of the European arm of Elite Models
A judge has been appointed to assess the evidence submitted by the alleged victims.
Ms Brinkworth told The Telegraph that the BBC must cooperate with the victims and their lawyers.
She said she had repeatedly requested access to material she filmed in the aftermath of the alleged assault.
'I filmed my testimony in the immediate aftermath of the assault as my own personal record. On the recording, I am visibly shocked and it is obvious I have just undergone a traumatic experience.
'This tape was never intended for broadcast but still the BBC refuses to hand it over.'
The journalist had been filming when she alleges Mr Marie pinned her down on a chair and attacked her.
She had been posing as a model within the agency to expose the treatment of women within the industry.
Her legal team has emphasised that despite public commitments from the BBC they have not received the footage or notebooks Ms Brinkworth used.
French lawyer Anne-Claire Le Jeune said she believed the BBC held 'objective evidence'.
'Despite its statements of intent, the BBC has not provided us with all of the evidence they have, citing the confidentiality agreement they have with Elite.'
The BBC aired the MacIntrye programme in November 1999, and it alleged that Ms Brinkworth was
