Who is David Sullivan - football boss, 'king of porn' and alleged sexual predator?

The erstwhile West Ham associated president David Sullivan erstwhile described himself arsenic a "collector of women, similar immoderate radical cod stamps".

"I tin person up to 3 a time but immoderate days I don't person immoderate - it depends however I consciousness and what other is happening," helium told a paper interviewer successful 1989. "I person a tendency to marque emotion to astir women."

The billionaire businessman made a luck from selling enactment successful the pre-internet satellite of big magazines, films, telephone chat lines and newspapers filled with topless glamour models and teenage girls who had conscionable turned 16.

Known arsenic the "king of porn" by immoderate successful the industry, the 77-year-old is 1 of the country's richest men, overseeing a media, spot and publishing empire from an bureau successful his 14-bedroom Essex mansion.

Sullivan denies each the allegations, calling them factually incorrect and wholly false. In a connection issued connected Saturday, helium besides criticised the BBC's "fundamentally unfair" investigation.

As helium faces accusations of abusing his presumption of power, however did helium emergence to specified wealthiness and influence?

Sullivan is champion known for his relation astatine West Ham, which helium took implicit with his concern partners successful 2010.

He was connected the transportation erstwhile the squad lifted the Uefa Conference League trophy successful Prague successful 2023, wearing a claret blazer and nine tie, and has been a regular show successful the directors' container during matches astatine the London Stadium.

Although helium has resigned arsenic associated chairman, helium remains the Championship club's largest azygous shareholder with a 38.8% involvement successful the business.

Born successful Cardiff successful 1949 to a Royal Air Force serviceman and his wife, Sullivan archetypal recovered a sensation for concern selling shot programmes.

After a grade successful economics astatine Queen Mary University, London, helium became an advertizing executive, selling favored nutrient and hand-rolled tobacco.

But successful the aboriginal 1970s, unhappy connected £30-a-week wages, Sullivan and a assemblage person began selling topless photos of pistillate models, moving the concern from a warehouse successful Forest Gate, eastbound London.

The mail-order endeavor rapidly took disconnected and the brace expanded into selling pornographic magazines and books connected intersexual techniques.

Soon they were being branded by the News of the World arsenic "Britain's newest purveyors of filth" - a moniker Sullivan claimed "made my parent cry".

Their occurrence caught the attraction of the authorities and successful 1973 Sullivan and his concern partner, some successful their aboriginal twenties, were charged with conspiring to people and station obscene materials.

They were each fined £50 aft pleading blameworthy astatine the Old Bailey.

His concern spouse decided to permission the manufacture but Sullivan was undeterred. In the years that followed, his porn empire grew rapidly arsenic helium pushed the boundaries of what was past considered acceptable content.

By the precocious 1970s, helium was selling much than a cardinal copies of progressively explicit porn magazines a month, and utilizing the publications to advertise the enactment toys and pornographic films helium besides sold.

He opened a concatenation of enactment shops crossed the state and branched retired into producing his ain big films. Several starred his girlfriend, Mary Millington, a glamour model-turned-pornographic histrion who was joined to different antheral and who took her ain beingness astatine the property of 33.

Sullivan aboriginal claimed helium "created the representation of Mary Millington - I was similar the Simon Cowell of the enactment industry".

Launching a caller newspaper

By the commencement of the 1980s, the News of the World reported that Sullivan was worthy an estimated £10m, with much than 100 enactment shops, respective contention horses and a plush location successful Chigwell.

Allegations astir his maltreatment of powerfulness were reported by the Sunday paper arsenic aboriginal arsenic 1981. The insubstantial had received a ailment from a pistillate who said she was rejected from a occupation moving for Sullivan aft she refused to slumber with him.

One of the paper's reporters, Tina Dalgleish, responded to an advert for "promotional amusement work". She reported that Sullivan told her she would person to person enactment arsenic portion of the occupation and that helium needed to "judge her performance". He asked her to travel upstairs and portion to her underwear, she wrote, adding that she had done so, but had past got dressed and left.

In 1982 helium was convicted of profiting from massage parlours successful London wherever men were paying for sex. He spent 71 days down bars aft his nine-month condemnation was reduced connected appeal.

After his stint successful prison, Sullivan's attraction turned to much mainstream publishing.

In 1986 helium launched the Sunday Sport, a substance of bizarre, lurid and salacious stories with a dependable fare of topless glamour models connected galore pages. It was a accelerated occurrence and a fewer years aboriginal the Daily Sport followed.

The newspapers ran a diagnostic called "Countdown to 16" wherever readers were teased with photos of partially clothed schoolgirls. Then, with overmuch fanfare, the girls' 16th birthdays were announced with the work of topless photos.

At the time, 16 was the minimum property idiosyncratic could legally look topless. It was raised to 18 successful 2004.

Tony Livesey, a erstwhile editor-in-chief of the Sport newspapers who is present a presenter connected BBC Radio 5 Live, claimed successful his publication astir the papers that helium and Sullivan had invented the feature. He present denies this, telling the BBC it was "categorically" not his thought and that ample parts of his publication were fictionalised to marque it look that helium "was astatine the centre of each stories".

The location that porn built

In the aboriginal 1990s, Sullivan moved into Birch Hall, a sweeping location acceptable successful 12 acres of onshore adjacent Theydon Bois which helium spent £7.5m building. It has its ain bowling alley and 2 swimming pools.

A fewer years later, successful his precocious 40s, helium fathered 2 children, David Junior and Jack, with his thengirlfriend Emma Benton-Hughes, a porn movie histrion and director.

By past helium had moved into shot ownership, buying Birmingham City successful 1993 with David and Ralph Gold, who owned the Ann Summers concatenation of enactment toys and lingerie shops.

Baroness Karren Brady, past aged 23, who had been moving successful selling connected the Sport newspapers, was installed arsenic managing director. She is present a subordinate of the House of Lords and a tv personality, appearing arsenic an adjutant to Lord Sugar connected BBC One's The Apprentice.

Brady has agelong worked intimately with Sullivan, astir precocious arsenic vice-chair of West Ham, which the businessman took implicit with the Gold brothers successful 2010.

They person faced protests from West Ham fans implicit the perceived deficiency of spending and mediocre on-pitch performances.

In April, Brady near the club, lasting down arsenic vice-chair with 5 matches of the Premier League play remaining and West Ham locked successful a relegation battle. They were yet relegated.

Sullivan has besides been linked to a antheral named by a justice arsenic the caput of an organised transgression web implicated successful utmost unit and fraud.

In 2014, it was reported that helium had loaned David Hunt £1m, aft a failed libel enactment against the Sunday Times near the transgression brag with an £800,000 ineligible bill.

At the time, Sullivan's spokesperson said the woody was a "normal commercialized indebtedness secured astatine a mean commercialized rate".