Huw Edwards would have been sacked over 'abhorrent' behaviour, says BBC as it admits it was aware of his arrest

31 July 2024, 17:09

Huw Edwards would have been sacked if he was charged with making indecent images of children while employed by the BBC, the broadcaster has said.

The BBC admitted that it was aware of Edwards' arrest in November 2023 but would have acted "immediately to dismiss him" if he was charged over his "abhorrent behaviour".

It comes after Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children on Wednesday.

The broadcaster said it was "shocked" by the details that emerged in court.

Edwards admitted having 41 indecent child photographs on WhatsApp.

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.

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A BBC spokesperson said: "The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.

"The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.

"In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.

"At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.

"Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.

"In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.

"During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.

"We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected."

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

The court heard that he 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."