Former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children.
The broadcaster appeared in court today (July 31) after being charged last month for offences that are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the three counts are based on 41 images shared on a WhatsApp chat, with seven of these images allegedly deemed category A images - the most serious classification of indecent images.
Edwards is additionally accused of having 12 category B pictures and 22 category C photographs. The remaining indecent image - sent in August 2021 - was a category A film featuring a young boy.
Edwards received the images in a Whatsapp chat with an adult man, which started in December 2020. The man sent the BBC News presenter 377 sexual images in total, with 41 of these indecent images.
The court heard that the man told Edwards the boy in the category A film was quite young looking and that he had more illegal images to share. Edwards told him not to send any illegal images. The pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
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Barrister Philip Evans KC, acting on Edwards' defence said in court: "There's no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has, in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.
"It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards' devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there's nothing in those devices," he added. "It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.
"Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else."
The Met has additionally clarified that the criminal allegations were separate from claims that were widely reported and later investigated last year.
"These allegations did not form part of the matter which was considered by police in July 2023. They were investigated separately as a standalone case," a police spokesperson said.
Following the court hearing, a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said (via The Telegraph): "Accessing indecent images of underage people perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children, which has deep, long-lasting trauma on these victims.
"The CPS and the Metropolitan Police were able to prove that Edwards was receiving illegal material involving children via WhatsApp. This prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside the police, will work to bring to justice those who seek to exploit children, wherever that abuse takes place."
Edwards, who was a main presenter on BBC One's Ten O'Clock News, resigned from the corporation in April after 40 years.
In a new BBC statement, shared after Edwards’ guilty plea, a BBC spokesperson said the company was “shocked” by the allegations levelled against its former employee.
“The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today,” the statement began. “There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.”
Edwards was suspended by the corporation in July 2023 after media reports alleged a BBC presenter had paid for sexually explicit photos of a young person. Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind later publicly confirmed her husband as the presenter in question.
“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation,” the statement continued.
The broadcaster clarified that had any of the details heard in court come to light whilst Edwards was employed at the BBC, the company “would act immediately to dismiss him”. The statement noted: “In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.”
The spokesperson concluded by reiterating the BBC's thoughts are very much with those affected.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
