Fox News presenter denies sexual misconduct allegations after being fired

(Reuters) - U.S. television presenter Ed Henry denied allegations of sexual misconduct after being fired by Fox News over claims of "willful sexual misconduct" involving a co-worker from years ago.

The cable news network owned by Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp said on Wednesday it had dismissed the co-presenter of weekday news program "America's Newsroom" after receiving a complaint on June 25 from the lawyer of a former employee which prompted the network to retain an outside law firm to investigate.

Henry was suspended on the day of the complaint and was fired based on "investigative findings," according to an internal memo that Fox News provided Reuters.

"Ed Henry denies the allegations referenced in the Fox announcement and is confident that he will be vindicated after a full hearing in an appropriate forum," Henry tweeted https://twitter.com/edhenry/status/1278476374513192961 on Wednesday, quoting his lawyer Catherine Foti.

The former employee has not been identified. Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who said he represented the former employee, said: "We cannot comment at this time."

Former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes resigned in 2016 after being accused by former employees of sexual harassment. Those claims formed the basis of the 2019 feature film "Bombshell" starring Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Additional reporting by Maria Ponnezhath; Editing by Howard Goller and Timothy Heritage)