Presenter Huw Edwards’ arrest over indecent images of children was known to the BBC for five months before his resignation in April, the corporation has revealed.
Despite being told in confidence that he faced serious charges in November, he remained in their employment and was their third highest-paid presenter, earning between £475,000 – £479,999 over the last financial year.
The veteran broadcaster has been off-air and suspended since allegations were first made against him last July, and entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to three charges of “making” indecent photographs.
Following his plea at Westminster magistrates court, a BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
They continued: “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.”
They stressed that had Edwards been charged while still in employment, he would have been immediately dismissed.
An internal note to colleagues sent by BBC director-general Tim Davie thanked staff working on the story for “your professionalism in carrying on with your jobs in difficult circumstances”.
During today’s hearing, the court heard that the broadcaster had engaged in a Whatsapp chat involving illegal photographs with an adult man, now known to be convicted paedophile Alex Williams, between December 2020 and August 2021,
Over this period, he sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
In February 2021, Williams asked whether what he was sending was too young, to which 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 identity of Williams, 25, of Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, was identified by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children. Williams was convicted of seven offences – receiving a 12-month suspended sentence on March 15.
Speaking in Edwards’ defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC said: “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.”
Mr Evans said the defendant 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.”
Edwards resigned from the BBC earlier this year “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” following unrelated allegations made in The Sun newspaper that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.
He was suspended by the corporation after the allegations came to light, but the Metropolitan Police later said that no criminal offence had taken place.
The family of the unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and he was publicly named by his wife as the TV presenter at the centre of the allegations in following July.
Over the course of his 40-year career at the BBC, he fronted BBC’s News At Ten for two decades and anchored coverage of major national events including announcing Queen Elizabeth II’s death on the BBC and presenting coverage of her funeral.
Edwards will appear at the same court again on September 16.