Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards was arrested after officers seized the phone of a paedophile and found the two men had participated in a WhatsApp exchange, police have said.
Edwards, who was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader before he resigned in April, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
It has now emerged that the Metropolitan Police only began investigating the 62-year-old after officers in South Wales unearthed the WhatsApp discussion in an “entirely unrelated” probe.
The Met has named the subject of the original investigation as Alex Williams, 25, from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
Williams sent Edwards, who is also from Wales, 41 indecent images of children between December 2020 and August 2021
As a result of the original investigation, Williams was convicted of seven offences related to indecent images and prohibited images of children. He was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 15 March.
Edwards was arrested in November 2023 while he was suspended from the BBC after allegations were published in The Sun in July of the same year about an unnamed presenter paying a teenager for explicit photos.
He was later named by his wife as the presenter but the Metropolitan Police said that no criminal offence had taken place.
The force said today the offences Edwards has pleaded guilty to are not linked to the newspaper reports that emerged last summer.
The BBC said in a statement after the court appearance today it was made aware in November that Edwards had been arrested on suspicion of “serious offences”.
The corporation added: “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.”
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Edwards arrives at court to plead guilty
Edwards was surrounded by photographers as he arrived at the court in west London today.
Of the 41 indecent images of children, seven of them were were classed as category A, while 12 were category B and 22 were category C.
Prosecutors said there were two moving images of a young child, possibly aged between seven and nine years old among the category A images.
The estimated age of most of the children in the images under that category were between 13 and 15, the court was told.
Williams asked Edwards in the messages whether those featured in the pictures were too young.
Edwards responded by telling him not to send anything illegal, the court heard.
No more indecent images were sent after August 2021, but the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
Philip Evans KC, defending Edwards, said there was no suggestion his client had made or created any of the images.
The former newsreader appeared nervous, fidgeting with his hands as Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told him he would not be sentencing him on Wednesday.
Sentencing guidelines set the starting point for any jail term for possession of a category A image at 12 months, with a range of 26 weeks to three years.
The starting point for a category B image is 26 weeks, while for a category C image it is a community order, the court was told.
Ian Hope, prosecuting, said a suspended sentence might be considered for Edwards.
The former BBC newsreader will appear in court in September.
What does ‘making’ images mean?
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the term “making” can include opening, accessing, downloading and storing the content, or receiving an image via social media, even if unsolicited and even if part of a group.
Category A images are the most serious and include penetrative sexual activity and sexual activity with an animal or sadism, while category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity.
Category C images do not depict any sexual activity.
Pic: PA/Ian West
‘No charges’ when Edwards resigned
After the plea hearing, the BBC said in its full statement: “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.”
The corporation added: “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.
“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.”