Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has returned to Australia as assault allegations swirl

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones is back in Australia and, in a video, has denied assault claims levelled against him by Nine’s newspapers | WATCH

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has returned to Australia after a long hiatus in the UK, vowing to resume his broadcasting career and strenuously denying serious allegations of indecent assault made against him.

Jones, 82, has released a video in which he explains his recent ­absence from online news channel ADH (Australian Digital Holdings) TV, and outlines the serious health complications that will ­continue to keep him off air for an extended period.

In December, Nine Entertainment’s newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age published an investigation by ­reporter Kate McClymont that ­alleged Jones preyed on, and assaulted, several young men.

Jones has not been charged in relation to any of the allegations.

In the five-and-a-half minute video, Jones hits back at the claims, explained his overseas absence, stated he had been home for “some time” and was having medical assessments after battling long-running ailments.

“The get-Jones campaign is nothing new in my life,” Jones said in the video.

“I am not going to dwell, here, on the allegations made about me other than to say that I refute them entirely and the inferences associated with them.”

Jones was one of the nation’s most successful radio broadcasters until his departure from 2GB in 2020. He won a record-breaking 226 breakfast radio surveys.

Broadcaster Alan Jones is one of Australia’s most successful radio presenters. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Jones was also a broadcaster on Sky News Australia until 2021 when he moved to ADH TV.

The media veteran was in the UK over summer.

In the video he said: “My absence is not what has been suggested by some in the media.”

Jones spent time in London to celebrate his godson’s 21st birthday “to see the best of London’s West End theatres” and he “was not in London to ‘seek help’ from (friend) Jake Thrupp, as has been wrongly reported and repeated.”

Thrupp, who is currently studying at King’s College London, created ADH TV in 2022 alongside friend Jack Bulfin.

ADH TV’s streaming service has 54,000 followers on Facebook, 44,000 on YouTube and 3650 on Instagram, while Jones has 205,000 YouTube followers.

Jones said he has been battling health problems for some time and “to address traumatic pain, amongst other things (and) urgent medical attention was sought from my specialist physician”.

“It required a home visit where he recommended medication and appropriate medical intervention,” Jones said in the video.

“I must now take the medical advice and do everything within my power to preserve my existence in the most comfortable way possible. I have every intention of returning to broadcasting.

“But, for now, I will be focusing on myself which, at my age, I ought to do. If others want to continue to throw stones at me, then that is their choice.”

Jones has had various health issues in recent years, including cancers and multiple spinal surgeries, but said he had “suffered no mental ageing”.

“I hope I am far from the end of life, but I have been advised that I have a serious need of getting well,” he said.

“My thanks to the many who have emailed me and been in touch with messages of support.”

In December, Jones’ legal team issued a statement that read: “Our client denies ever having indecently assaulted the persons referred to in your letter, and your suggestion that he has is scandalous, grossly offensive and seriously defamatory of him.”

After the claims were published by Nine newspapers in December, Nine Radio managing director Tom Malone addressed the allegations in an email to staff, saying some people may find the story “distressing”.