VisitScotland axes John Leslie
John Leslie, the TV presenter at the centre of rape allegations, has been dropped at the last minute as the host of tonight's Scottish Thistle Awards.
Organisers booked Leslie months ago to present the awards, but yesterday called his agent to cancel his appearance.
The Scottish celebrity was identified this week as the man at the centre of allegations made in Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography, a claim that has been denied by Leslie.
A spokeswoman for VisitScotland, which organises the event, said that in spite of the media attention Leslie had still been prepared to present the awards but the organiser decided that it would be "inappropriate".
"It has nothing to do with the allegations. We were concerned that his presence would take away attention from the finalists. We came to an amicable agreement with his agent," she said.
Scottish comedian, Fred MacAulay, who is a presenter for BBC Radio Scotland, has stepped in to take Leslie's place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
The awards, which are in their eleventh year, cover 14 categories in areas such as training, marketing initiatives, information technology and cultural campaigns.
