Huw Edwards, the former leading BBC presenter, has pleaded guilty to possessing sexual abuse images of children believed to be as young as seven.
Edwards, 62, who left the corporation last year, admitted at Westminster magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning to possessing 41 indecent images, seven of which were category A, the most serious.
The veteran broadcaster was the face of the BBC’s coverage of major national events for decades and announced the late Queen’s death in September 2022.
What did Huw Edwards do?
The court was told that Edwards had been involved in an 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 Feb 2 2021, the male asked whether what he was sending was too young, to which Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court was told.
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 believed to be aged between seven and nine, the court was told.
No more indecent images were sent after August 2021, but the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
During the period he was being sent the photographs, Edwards fronted coverage of the funeral of the late Duke Of Edinburgh, and a programme from Windsor Castle the night before the funeral called HRH The Duke Of Edinburgh Remembered.
A man accused of sending the images to Edwards is under criminal investigation, The Telegraph understands.