DJ Tim Westwood 'strongly denies' allegations of sexual misconduct by several women

DJ Tim Westwood has "strongly denied" several allegations of sexual misconduct by women who say he abused his position in the music industry to take advantage of them, according to media reports.

Three women have accused the former Radio 1 DJ of opportunistic and predatory sexual behaviour, while four others claim they were groped by him at events, The Guardian reports following a joint investigation with the BBC.

The women were in their late teens or early 20s when the alleged incidents happened. The earliest alleged incident reportedly took place in 1992; the most recent in 2017.

A statement from a representative for Westwood to the PA news agency said: "Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

"In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially.

"Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing."

The 64-year-old DJ was an early champion of hip-hop in the UK and hosted the first nationally-broadcast rap show on UK radio from 1994.

After almost 20 years on Radio 1, he left the station in 2013 and currently has a Saturday night show on Capital XTRA, where he is referred to as "The Big Dawg".

Westwood, who is the son of Bill Westwood, the former Anglican Bishop of Peterborough who died in 1999, was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, South London, in July 1999, which left him in hospital.

Often cited as an inspiration for Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional Ali G character, as well as his career in radio he presented the MTV UK car makeover show Pimp My Ride UK, which ran for three seasons from 2005 to 2007.

The women accusing him are set to tell their stories in a BBC Three documentary, Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power, which airs on Tuesday night.

The seven women are all black, and say they met Westwood through his work. They have remained anonymous and do not know each other, according to the BBC.