Thursday’s front pages are dominated by the news that Huw Edwards, once the BBC’s most senior news presenter, has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. The Mirror leads with the headline “Huw’s child abuse pics shame”.
The Sun has the word “guilty” alongside a photo of Edwards outside court on Wednesday. He has not been on air since last July after reports in the Sun claimed that he paid a young person for sexually explicit images. The Metropolitan Police said it found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to those allegations, and that the current case was separate.
The Telegraph says the BBC is “facing questions” after it emerged that the corporation paid Edwards more than £200,000 following his arrest. The BBC has said the news presenter, who resigned from his job in April, would have been dismissed had he been charged while still employed by the BBC.
The Express reports that Edwards was “emotionless” while pleading guilty to making indecent images of children.
The Times reports how Edwards exchanged WhatsApp messages with a man later convicted on paedophilia charges. The newspaper also has a story on how Nigel Farage has denied “whipping up” street riots in Southport on Tuesday night.
The Metro leads with the mother of a seven-year-old girl killed in the Southport knife attack calling for an end to violence after riots left 54 police officers injured on Tuesday night.
The Guardian says Edwards could face jail after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. It also has a story on how there are fears of escalations in the Middle East after Israel killed leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Mail reports that a Russian-linked “fake news” website “fuelled lies” that sparked violent protests in Southport. It reports that the website “falsely claimed” that the attacker was a migrant on an MI6 watchlist.
The Financial Times reports that Iran is vowing to take revenge on Israel for killing Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an overnight air strike in Tehran, according to Iranian media. It reports that there are fears of “full-blown” war in the region.
And the Daily Star reports on how holidaymakers “face misery” as motorways “get snarled up by roadworks”. The paper also says that a “plague of midges” are about to descend on the UK.
BBC
