Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has been asked to return £200,000 in salary after he pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children. Edwards, 62, admitted possessing 41 illegal images that were sent to him by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of which were the most serious category. Two images reportedly showed a child aged between seven and nine. The BBC revealed in a board statement that Edwards had continued to receive his salary during five months after he was first arrested and had not resigned until the end of April.
The statement explained that the board had reviewed this situation in addition to considering the events leading up to Edwards’s prosecution. It confirmed that BBC director-general Tim Davie’s actions had been supported and said that an independent review would be commissioned to make recommendations to strengthen workplace culture in line with BBC values. The review will include working with the rest of the industry as necessary and its terms of reference and leadership will be set out next month.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy welcomed the forthcoming review, saying that “public trust in the BBC is essential”. Last week, she had said that Edwards should return his salary to the corporation. The BBC has said that Edwards was, until 2023/24, one of its highest-paid newsreaders, earning between £435,000 and £480,000 annually. Edwards was first suspected of sexual misconduct last July but police found no evidence of wrongdoing. He resigned from the corporation in April, citing medical advice.
An episode of Doctor Who featuring Edwards has also been removed from the BBC’s iPlayer streaming service. The 2006 edition entitled Fear Her included audio of Edwards commentating on the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. The BBC has been undertaking widespread reforms to its organisational culture following the Jimmy Savile abuse allegations, with journalist Martin Bashir’s use of forged documents to obtain a Princess Diana interview also prompting further reforms.
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