The BBC has defended itself over fresh claims that a teenager was paid £50 to brandish firearms during a documentary about gun crime in Liverpool.
Panorama programme Young Gunmen aired in 2008 following the successful prosecution of the criminals responsible for the death of schoolboy Rhys Jones.
The documentary filmed members of Liverpool street gangs posturing with weapons and talking about serious crime.
READ MORE: Rhys Jones murder 14 years on as innocent victim of gun feud will never be forgotten
After the show aired the father of one of the participants contacted police after recognising his son's voice.
This led to Stephen Hooton, who appeared in the programme when he was just 16, admitting possessing a shotgun and a handgun, as well as ammunition. In 2009 Hooton, then 17, was jailed for four years.
Hooton's legal team told Liverpool Crown Court that the defendant was paid £50 to pose with the guns.
Last week Hooton's mother spoke to a national newspaper when she reiterated the claim that her son was paid money to brandish the gun.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Linda Hooton said that she blamed the BBC over the claim that money was paid to her son.
There is no suggestion that any of the presenters who appeared in the programme were involved in the alleged cash payment.
Linda Hooton also claimed that her son's involvement in the programme "sent him off the rails." Stephen Hooton went on to commit further offences.
In July this year Hooton was jailed for five years and two months for his role in a burglary gang which targeted £2.6m worth of high value cars from homes across the North West.
The ECHO put Linda Hooton's claims to the BBC earlier this week.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: "We have always said that the BBC did not make any payments to the gunman.
"The programme fully complied with the BBC's editorial guidelines.
"The BBC and its journalists co-operated fully with Merseyside Police in connection with this matter."
In 2009 Liverpool Crown Court heard how an intermediary was said to have paid Hooton the cash.
Jason Smith, defending, said that Hooton claimed that he was paid the £50 by an intermediary and not by BBC producers.
In a written basis of plea, accepted by the prosecution and Judge Graham Morrow QC, he stated he was told to collect the guns by a man known as “Male C”.
Mr Smith said: "“He was told by Male C that TV cameras were in the area making a film about gangs and offering money because they wanted to tell tales of guns and violence.
“On the evening of June 30, 2008, the defendant was offered £50 by Male C to collect some guns from a given address, to go in front of the TV camera with the guns and make threats, and to show off about the Marsh Gang.”
It was claimed Male C, who was in his 20s, was a prominent in a group known as the Marsh Gang.
Hooton tried to argue that he was only a peripheral member of the Marsh Gang but the the court heard that he had daubed daubed anti-police graffiti on the wall of his cell at Lancaster Farms Young Offenders Institute.
The claims that money was paid to young people to brandish guns on television led to a controversy at the time.
The suggestion that cash was paid to teenagers was described as "unforgivable" by then Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley.
He said : “I always thought something was a bit awry there, and if this is true, it is unforgivable."
Mr Bradley also said that the programme clearly damaged the 'perception of the city' to the world.
Paula Ogunboro, of campaign group Mothers Against Guns, said: “I think it is disgusting when we are trying to do all we can to get guns off the street and people are being paid to pose with them for the sake of a TV programme."
This week Merseyside Police referred the ECHO to a statement they released in January 2009, which read: "Following the broadcast of Panorama "Young Gunmen" on June 30 last year, Merseyside Police investigated both the criminal actions of individuals posing with guns and whether there was any substance to rumours that money had been exchanged.
"As a result, a 17-year-old appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday January 9 having previously pleaded guilty to possession of two firearms and ammunition. During the hearing on Friday the 17 -year-old defendant claimed that he had not been paid by the BBC but had received money from an intermediary.
"The BBC provided information during the inquiry which indicated compliance with their editorial policies.
"Merseyside Police will continue its investigation following the claims by the 17-year-old defendant to identify those involved in alleged transactions and any offences that have been committed.
"The Force will be contacting the BBC in light of these claims, to enable them to consider any steps they need to take as a result of the disclosure by the defendant."
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