TV bosses 'warned Huw Edwards about online behaviour' two years before scandal
28 April 2024, 07:47 | Updated: 28 April 2024, 09:11
TV bosses are said to have warned Huw Edwards about his online behaviour two years before the scandal that broke in 2023.
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Edwards came off air last July following newspaper reports that he paid a young person for sexually explicit images.
He resigned from the BBC earlier this month for medical reasons.
An internal report into his conduct found that a woman got in contact with the corporation about messages she had exchanged with the newsreader in May 2021.
The woman asked the broadcasters to get involved to stop the contact, according to the report, which was seen by the Sunday Times. They intervened within hours, the report said.
Read more: Huw Edwards resigns from the BBC 'on medical advice'
Read more: BBC apologises to family of young person at centre of Huw Edwards scandal
She is said to have then retracted the complaint, allegedly after further contact from Edwards.
A similar situation between Edwards and the woman repeated itself in January 2022, the report claims.
A manager at the corporation told him in February 2022 that "contact…should now cease" with the woman. But they then began emailing each other again afterwards.
The woman spoke to TV bosses again after the allegations against Edwards were made last July.
The BBC declined to comment. Edwards' lawyers also said they would not comment on "unsubstantiated" claims.
After Edwards resigned, a spokesperson for the corporation said: "Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC. After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors.
"The BBC has accepted his resignation which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don't believe it appropriate to comment further."
Edwards was the broadcaster's most high-profile news anchor, often chosen to front coverage of major national events. He has a history of mental ill health and has previously been treated for severe depression.
He has not made any public statement directly addressing the allegations.
He was first named in a statement released by his wife which said he was suffering from “serious mental health issues” and after the claims emerged had suffered a “serious episode.”
