Huw Edwards admits making indecent images of children after being sent 41 illegal photos, including boy as young as 7

31 July 2024, 10:13 | Updated: 31 July 2024, 13:11

Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

The veteran broadcaster and married father of five admitted having 41 indecent child photographs on WhatsApp in a court appearance on Wednesday.

The 62-year-old committed the three offences between December 2020 and August 2021. Police said the matter was unrelated to other claims about Edwards made last summer.

Edwards could receive a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

It comes after it was reported that his wife had split from his TV producer wife and left his family home.

Read more: Huw Edwards 'splits from wife and moves out of family home' ahead of court appearance

Read more: Huw Edwards named BBC's third-highest paid journalist after £40,000 pay rise

The court heard that Edwards had been involved in online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The bulk of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period.

On February 2 2021 the male asked whether what he was sending was too young, in response to which Mr Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court heard.

The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C.

Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy.

The man told Edwards that the boy was quite young looking, and that he had more images which were illegal.

Edwards told him not to send any illegal images, the court was told.

No more were sent, and the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

Speaking in Edwards' defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC said: "There's no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has... in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.

"It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards' devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there's nothing in those devices.

"It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.

"Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else."

He said the broadcaster had "both mental and physical" health issues. He told the court: "It is obvious to the court, I'm sure, that Mr Edwards was not just of good character, but of exceptional character."

Mr Evans said the court was aware of issues with Edwards' health - "both mental and physical".

Edwards faced a barrage of cameras and photographers as he left court. He left in a black Mercedes with tinted windows.

Edwards was first arrested on 8 November 2023. He was charged on Wednesday, 26 June this year.

He had become a key figure for the BBC in recent years, playing a central role in the coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and other major political events.

The BBC announced Edwards' resignation earlier this year in a brief statement.

The corporation said: "Huw Edwards has resigned and left the BBC.

"After 40 years of service, Huw explained that his decision was made on the basis of advice. The BBC has accepted his resignation."

It emerged recently that Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 in the 2023-24 financial year.

That made him the broadcaster's third-highest-paid presenter overall.

An NSPCC spokesperson said after the guilty plea: "Online child sexual abuse offences can have a devastating impact on victims and we should be in no doubt about the seriousness of Edwards' crimes.

"It can be extremely traumatic for young people to know sexual images of themselves have been shared online. Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation's Report Remove tool can help young people who have suffered in this way to get the images removed.

"We also need to see online platforms do much more to identify and disrupt child abuse in private messaging services in order to safeguard young people."