Former interim chair of the BBC, Dame Elan Closs Stephens, has been accused of thanking disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards for his “huge contribution” despite being aware of his arrest. Edwards, who resigned from the BBC in March this year, admitted to having 41 indecent images of children sent to him by another man on WhatsApp. Dame Elan acknowledged Edwards’ arrest while in her role but expressed a lack of knowledge about the “terrible details” that have recently come to light. The BBC’s director general Tim Davie confirmed that he too was made aware of Edwards’ arrest and allegations against him in November last year.
Dame Elan spoke on the Welsh-language radio programme Beti a’i Phobol in July, where she made a point of referring to Edwards as “poor Huw.” She also said she was “proud to thank him personally for all his huge contribution,” in reference to Edwards. She went on to describe it as a “sad story” and alluded to the media likely making the most of it because Edwards was a well-known figure.
Davie defended the BBC’s handling of the case, stating that while he was told of Edwards’ arrest and the nature of the allegations in November, he was not given the specifics. An internal investigation into Edwards’ conduct was also launched at the BBC but has not been published. A freedom of information request was made for any notes or correspondence regarding the investigation, but it was rejected, citing data protection laws relating to personal data.
The Sun newspaper originally published allegations about Edwards’ private life in July 2023 but no criminality was confirmed at the time. Edwards was then arrested in November 2020 in relation to allegations of making indecent images of children and charged in June 2021. He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children last week. Edwards was one of Wales’ most high-profile public figures, regularly presenting on BBC One’s News at Ten and covering major national events
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