Seven review clears Tim Worner of misconduct allegations

The former lover of Seven West Media boss Tim Worner has attacked a review clearing him of wrongdoing.

“Disappointed”. Amber Harrison says male executives at Seven West Media “have just been given a green light to prey on female staff”.

The former lover of Seven West Media boss Tim Worner has accused the company of a “whitewash” after a review of allegations about their relationship cleared him of wrongdoing.

Confirming a report in The Australian this morning, Seven said an independent review into Mr Worner’s affair with former Seven executive assistant Amber Harrison was unable to substantiate her claims about the sex scandal.

Ms Harrison made damn­ing allegations involving Mr ­Worner, including of drug-taking on company time and unauthorised credit­-card expenditure. She also said management tried to silence her accusations to protect the media chief.

But Seven said the investigation into the affair by law firm Allens Linklater found there were “no grounds to take any further disciplinary action” against Mr Worner, who it was confident would “continue to run the company in the interests of all shareholders”.

Seven’s board said in a statement it was satisfied there were no irregularities in Mr Worner’s credit card use and that it could not substantiate allegations of illicit drug use.

It also accepted “strong and vehement denials” by four staff members that they had had an inappropriate relationship with Mr Worner, saying their responses “cast doubt on the veracity of other accusations” by Ms Harrison.

Ms Harrison today hit out at the findings of the review, casting doubt on the integrity of the investigation and saying there existed over a thousand emails and text messages that validated her claims.

“I am very disappointed but not surprised by this whitewash by Seven West Media,” Ms Harrison said in a statement to the Seven board and obtained by The Australian.

“At my interview with Allens Linklater I provided explicit evidence to show that Mr Worner misused his credit card in the pursuit of his relationship with me and that he used cocaine when he was with me at work functions and events. The claims by Seven that these allegations cannot be substantiated are a joke.”

Ms Harrison said the interview she conducted as part of the investigation was “superficial, deliberately limited in scope and designed to achieve the predetermined outcome it has delivered”.

“The lesson for women is don’t work for Seven West Media and expect to be treated equally or with respect. Male executives at Seven West Media have just been given a green light to prey on female staff, and if there is any objection Seven will smash you with their legal juggernaut.”

Ms Harrison said she was considering her options for new legal action against Seven.

Cleared: Tim Worner

Seven said today the final report would not be made public.

Terms of reference included an interview with Ms Harrison as part of a probe into each of the key allegations in a statement she circulated to the media in December 2016.

The company’s identification of significant credit card misuse by Ms Harrison was not instigated by, or on behalf of, Mr Worner or his office, the review found, and they had no involvement in the investigation.

Mr Worner did not influence, nor play any role, in the awarding of the bonus to Ms Harrison “other than signing the letters which informed her, and other executive assistants, of their bonus”, the review also found.

According to Seven’s statement, the review further concluded that company funds were not deployed in furthering the relationship by Mr Worner or with his approval, and there were “no irregularities in Mr Worner’s corporate credit card use”.

In addition, strong and vehement denials by the four employees “falsely accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Mr Worner are accepted without reservation and cast doubt on the veracity of other accusations”, Seven said.

Allegations of illicit drug use by Mr Worner could also not be substantiated, Seven said.

Seven added: “This has been a tumultuous time for the entire company and with the receipt of the independent review this matter can now be brought to a conclusion. The board is aware that there were a number of communications that passed between Mr Worner and Ms Harrison that were of a highly personal nature that used language and expressed concepts that the board finds totally objectionable.

“However, the board is of the view that the communications were consensual, personal and private in nature and were only disclosed as a result of a breach of express confidentiality obligations.”

With Darren Davidson