Huw Edwards has apologised for “betraying the priceless trust of so many people” as he appeared in court for sentencing after admitting accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven.
The former BBC presenter, who spent four decades at the corporation, looked pale and tired in the dock as his case was discussed in front of the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, who will decide whether to hand down a custodial sentence.
The court heard that Edwards, 63, had pleaded guilty in July to three charges of making indecent images of children after he was sent 41 illegal images by Alex Williams, a convicted paedophile.
Edwards had been involved in an online chat with Williams on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021 during which he sent hundreds of pounds to him “apparently off the back of [him] sending pornographic images to Mr Edwards”.
Williams sent him 377 sexual images, including 41 indecent images of children, of which seven were category A (the worst), 12 category B and 22 category C.
In his opening statement at the hearing, prosecutor Ian Hope said: “It is clear from the face of the WhatsApp chat recovered that a deal of the chat between Alex Williams and Mr Edwards was sexual in nature.
“It is also clear that Mr Edwards was paying not insignificant sums of money – low hundreds of pounds on an occasional basis – to Alex Williams which Mr Williams directly asked for on several occasions, as gifts or presents, apparently off the back of sending pornographic images to Mr Edwards, about which images they chatted.
“Alex Williams has stated that the money was more generally to support him at university and amounted to around £1,000 to £1,500.”
Hope said Edwards did not respond after Williams sent him a sexual video of children aged around seven to nine and 11 to 13 and that there was evidence that he had asked for illegal images not to be sent.
The prosecutor said: “On 10 February 2021, a category A video was sent which is notable because the age of one of the children involved was significantly younger than in the rest of the images sent – it showed several acts of penetration between two children aged around seven to nine and 11 to 13 respectively.
“There was no direct response from Mr Edwards to this video, beyond it being marked as ‘read’. A week later … a number of attachments were sent, which included two category B videos and four category C still images comprising indecent images of children.
“On 19 February 2021, Alex Williams asked: ‘Is the stuff I’m sending too young for you?’ The next response from Mr Edwards is dated 22 February 2021 saying: ‘Don’t send underage.’”
The court heard, however, that Edwards told Williams “go on” when asked if he wanted “naughty pics and vids” of somebody described as “yng (sic)“.
He wrote: “yes xxx” when he was asked by Williams if he wanted sexual images of a person whose “age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16”.
Williams, who was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences after an investigation by South Wales police, received a 12-month suspended sentence on 15 March.
The former presenter, who announced the death of the Queen in 2022, arrived an hour before the hearing in central London pulling a suitcase behind him and wearing a blue cardigan.
The court heard that the phone used by Edwards to communicate with Williams had never been recovered but that the WhatsApp messages indicated that a number of social media platforms were used for the sharing of images. The two men met in person only once.
Edwards suffered from depression and other mental health conditions, the court heard, and had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis, a form of heart disease, in December 2023.
Edwards’ defence barrister, Philip Evans KC, said the evidence that his client had expressly asked Williams not to send illegal images was a significant mitigation and that there was nothing to suggest that Edwards had used his position at the BBC to gain indecent images.
He said Edwards, who has separated from his wife with whom he has five adult children, wished “to apologise to the court” and those he had hurt.
Evans said: “He wishes the court through me to know how profoundly sorry he is. He recognises the repugnant nature of such indecent images and the hurt that he has done those who appear in such images.
“For his part on that he apologises sincerely and he makes it clear he has the utmost regret. He recognises that he has betrayed the priceless trust of so many people.
“He recognises he has hurt and damaged his family and his loved ones around him. For all those things he is truly sorry and he is truly sorry he has committed these offences.”