Seven West chief Tim Worner ‘shamed’ amid new sex claims

Seven West chairman Kerry Stokes has reprimanded CEO Tim Worner for his affair with a staffer.

Seven West chief executive Tim Worner.

Seven West chairman Kerry Stokes has reprimanded his chief executive, Tim Worner, for his “unacceptable” 18-month affair with a staffer amid separate salacious claims he used cocaine during sex sessions and had ­affairs with two network TV stars.

Revelations of the sex scandal sent the company’s stocks on a $98 million dive yesterday but the board was standing by Mr Worner and denied the claims of ­additional affairs.

Documents obtained by The Australian show the extraordinary lengths taken by the company to keep the affair with Amber Harrison quiet, ­including paying her $350,000 in a series of transactions and asking the ­former executive assistant to ­destroy her smartphone, which she did using a blowtorch.

A complaint she lodged with the Human Rights Commission contains explosive texts between the pair and claims their sexual encounters in hotels were charged to Seven West corporate cards — on one occasion the claim was “accommodation for a VIP client”. Seven denies the ­allegation.

Ms Harrison alleges during one tryst at a company retreat to celebrate Mr Worner’s appointment as chief executive the pair used drugs — a claim Seven ­declined to deny.

They met for sex during work hours and Ms Harrison said in her complaint, which was prepared by a lawyer, Mr Worner would claim taxis when he visited her at home, where they had sex while she was on sick leave with anxiety she blamed on the affair. Ms Harrison also claims Mr Worner had affairs with four other Seven West staff, including two high profile on-air stars.

The Seven board met yesterday as shares plunged 8 per cent to 75c, wiping $98m off the market cap after the affair became public as Mr Worner said he was filled with the “deepest regret and shame”.

“Seven agrees that the inappropriate consensual sexual relationship made public by Ms Harrison is deeply regrettable and the chairman has always made clear to Mr Worner that the alleged conduct, even though a personal matter, was completely unacceptable,” a statement from Seven said.

“Separately, Tim Worner apologised at the time and now for the inappropriate consensual relationship with Ms Harrison that commenced prior to his ­appointment as chief executive, and has been working with the board and executive to ensure this improper behaviour is not a part of Seven’s culture.

“Allegations made in her statement which name other ­employees are rejected totally, ­including any allegation that other current or former employees have been paid off.’’

Mr Worner said the relationship with Ms Harrison finished “some years ago” and that he apologised to her at the time.

“My focus is to continue to work through this in private and minimise the distress to my ­family. They are the most ­important people in the world to me and I will continue to fight to repair the damage I’ve caused,’’ he said.

Former Seven staff member Amber Harrison.

Ms Harrison wishes she could “go back and not start the affair” but she attacked Seven for failing to pay her an additional $195,000.

“The affair is not the scandal. The scandal is the way I’ve been treated,” she told The Australian.

Ms Harrison, who said she has tried to stay out of the spotlight, expressed sympathy for Mr Worner’s family.

“I didn’t want to do this to Tim. What weighed heavily on me was doing it to Tim’s children, they shouldn’t have to go through this,” she said.

“All they needed to do was pay me the $195,000. That’s where we got to. I would have walked away. I was settling for hundreds of thousands less than we had agreed.

“I gave them everything. I was giving in to all of their demands, then they walked away from it. They expected me to just go, ‘that’s OK’. I just wanted a fair go. If I was seeking attention I would have done this a year go.”

Ms Harrison, who was made redundant by Seven in 2014, was investigated by the network for alleged misuse of her corporate credit card. The investigation, carried out by Deloitte, examined expenses on hers and another employee’s corporate cards totalling $260,000.

Seven rejected Ms Harrison’s claims that the investigation was conducted in a bid to pressure her to resign.

The documents lodged with the Human Rights Commission allege Ms Harrison paid for hotel rooms four times for their sexual encounters, claiming the cost of the room as an expense from the Seven Network.

“In 2014, Mr Worner asked Ms Harrison to visit him at the Australian Open. Mr Worner was aware that Ms Harrison put the cost of the flights, accommodation and room service on the corporate credit card,” the AHRC documents allege. “On one occasion, Mr Worner even expressly directed Ms Harrison to put the cost of hotel accommodation used for their sexual encounter on her corporate credit card and claim it as accommodation for a VIP client.” Seven denies the allegation.

Alleged texts between the pair were also revealed in the complaint.

“I’m something that pops into your head to do when you are bored,” Ms Harrison texted him in February 2014, the documents reveal. “Stop texting me. I’ll stop texting you. This is done.”

Mr Worner then allegedly replied: “I want to f..k you. Badly.”

Four days after alerting human resources to the existence of the affair on July 28, 2014, she said she signed the first of two agreements for money to be paid to her on the condition she “not … make any statement publicly or otherwise about or related to the relationship or about the company”.

Ms Harrison had been called to a meetings three days in a row at the Darling Hotel by Seven staff, who presented her with the deed.

Two days after signing the first agreement, a senior human resources staff member asked for Ms Harrison to have her smartphone “physically destroyed” with a blowtorch, the documents say. Ms Harrison said she did so, and was given a new phone as compensation, which was handed over at the hotel, 300m from the office.

On November 8, 2014, Ms Harrison said she was invited to a meeting with senior Seven figures and was given a 30-page independent auditor’s report showing she had to explain corporate credit card spending totalling “approximately $260,000”.

Less than a week later she met for a mediation and signed a second agreement, which she says should have seen her paid about $500,000. Seven, she said, failed to pay the agreed amount.