The British Broadcasting Corporation has expressed “shock” at its former employee Huw Edwards, who has admitted to charges related to child abuse images.
This information was disclosed in a statement released by the BBC on Wednesday following Edwards’ court appearance regarding the incident, noting that Edwards would have been dismissed had these charges been brought before his departure from the corporation in April.
Huw Edwards, once the BBC’s leading news presenter, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Edwards admitted to possessing 41 indecent images of children, which had been sent to him by another man via WhatsApp, according to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The images included seven category A images, the most severe classification—two of which depicted a child aged approximately seven to nine years old.
Police later revealed that the man who sent these images to Edwards was a convicted pedophile.
Until last year, Edwards was a primary presenter on BBC One’s News at Ten and frequently covered major national events.
The BBC stated it was “shocked” by the revelations and that Edwards would have been terminated if charged prior to his April departure from the corporation.
“There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected,” the BBC added.
The BBC also mentioned that it had been “made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail” last November.
Edwards had already been suspended due to separate allegations but remained on full pay until he left on “medical advice” three months ago.
He was charged last month and could face imprisonment. Edwards is scheduled to appear in court again on September 16.
Edwards, flanked by police officers and surrounded by photographers, entered and exited the court expressionless on Wednesday. The hearing lasted less than half an hour.
He calmly and quietly responded “guilty” three times as the charges were read to him.
The court was informed that Edwards had engaged in online chat on WhatsApp starting in December 2020 with an adult man, who sent him 377 sexual images, including 41 indecent images of children.
Legally, images encompass both video clips and still pictures. The Crown Prosecution Service indicated that most of the category A images depicted children aged between 13 and 15. Two clips showed a child aged about seven to nine.
Category A images involve serious abuse, including penetrative sexual activity.
Edwards also possessed 12 category B pictures, involving non-penetrative sexual activity, and 22 category C photographs, which cover other indecent images. The category B and C pictures depicted children aged between 12 and 15.
Following the hearing, police stated that their investigation into Edwards began after seizing a phone during an unrelated probe, which revealed his participation in a WhatsApp conversation.
The Metropolitan Police revealed that a 25-year-old pedophile named Alex Williams, who received a suspended 12-month jail sentence in Wales on March 15, had shared indecent images of children with Edwards.
On February 2, 2021, the other man asked if the content he was sending was too young, to which Edwards replied, asking him not to send any underage images. The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy.
The man informed Edwards that the boy looked quite young and that he had more illegal images, which he did not send. The pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
Edwards’ barrister, Philip Evans KC, emphasized that 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,” adding that his client “was not just of good character, but of exceptional character.”
Edwards had been off-air since last July following reports in the Sun newspaper claiming he paid a young person for sexually explicit images. The Metropolitan Police found no evidence of criminal behavior related to those allegations, which were separate from the current case.
The BBC suspended Edwards last July and initiated an internal investigation, which remains inconclusive. Edwards resigned in April.
Edwards received between £475,000-£479,999 from April 2023 to April 2024, a £40,000 increase from the previous year.
Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of a child. Legally, a photograph can also mean video footage. “Making” indecent images encompasses more than simply taking or filming the original picture or clip.
The Crown Prosecution Service explains that “making” can include opening an email attachment, downloading from a website, storing on a computer, accessing images in a pop-up window, receiving via social media, or live-streaming images of children.
A court must decide whether an offense falls into possession, distribution, or production categories. Creating the original image is classified as production, the most serious category. Sentences range from six months to three years in prison, with community orders and sex offender treatment programs as alternatives in some cases.
Claire Brinton of the CPS stated, “Accessing indecent images of underage people perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children, which has deep, long-lasting trauma on these victims.”
Children’s charity NSPCC and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) both condemned Edwards’ actions, emphasizing the severe impact on victims.
The BBC Action Line offers support and advice for anyone affected by these issues.
