BBC Director General Tim Davie has confirmed that discussions are ongoing over whether to claw back £200,000 from disgraced news presenter Huw Edwards. The BBC requested that Edwards return the salary he earned after being arrested in November 2022 on charges related to child abuse images. Edwards continued to earn his salary for five months after his arrest before being suspended in July 2023 and ultimately resigning from the broadcaster in April.
Addressing a House of Lords committee, Davie stated that “the money should be returned and we made the request” but confirmed no deadline had been set for Edwards to comply. Davie also reiterated that legal action would be pursued if necessary. BBC chair Samir Shah told the same committee that Edwards had “behaved in bad faith” by continuing to take his salary after his arrest, stating that Edwards had damaged the BBC’s reputation.
Shah also spoke about the BBC’s independence, arguing that the UK government’s influence over the broadcaster needed to be reduced. Five of the BBC’s 14-strong board of directors are appointed by the government, a practice Shah described as an imbalance. One of Shah’s predecessors, Richard Sharp, resigned in 2023 following criticism of his dealings with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Shah also criticized the government’s actions in diverting £300m from the BBC’s output in order to fund the World Service. The corporation assumed responsibility for funding the service a decade ago. “We need to have a future funding model that means we are independent of that kind of action,” Shah said. “What matters most of all is the independence of the BBC.”
Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children in July this year, and the BBC has confirmed discussions are ongoing regarding the possibility of legal action
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