Culture secretary to discuss Huw Edwards case with BBC boss

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy is set to have a discussion with BBC head honcho Tim Davie following the admission of guilt from former news anchor Huw Edwards on three charges of possessing inappropriate images of minors.

The two individuals are set to have a phone conversation on Thursday to talk about how the organization has dealt with the situation.

This news was revealed on Wednesday evening, stating that the BBC had been informed that Edwards was being investigated for possible child abuse image charges.

The BBC was aware that Edwards had been arrested for serious crimes in November. This information was not disclosed to the public until this week, and the specific nature of the offences was not revealed.

The BBC said that if the presenter had been charged while still working for the BBC, he would have been fired. Edwards quit in April and was charged in June.

The company is being questioned about why they didn't fire Edwards after learning about his arrest and why they kept paying him for five more months.

Edwards left his job at the BBC in April because of health reasons. He had not appeared on TV since July 2023, when he was identified as being involved in a different case related to inappropriate images of a young individual.

The BBC News did not know about Edwards' arrest or charges until they were announced to the public on Monday. The BBC News operates with editorial independence when covering stories involving the BBC.

Recently, the BBC released their yearly report which showed that Edwards earned a salary ranging from £475,000 to £479,999 from April 2023 to April 2024. This was a £40,000 raise compared to the year before.

According to a report from the BBC, the company does not think they can legally recover any past salaries or future pension funds from Edwards.

During his court appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Edwards confessed to possessing 41 inappropriate pictures of children that were sent to him by another individual through WhatsApp.

They contained seven category A pictures, which are considered the most severe - two showing a child around seven to nine years old.

Category A pictures depict severe mistreatment that involves sexual penetration.

He also possessed 12 images in category B, depicting non-penetrative sexual activity, and 22 pictures in category C, which included other inappropriate images. These images featured children aged 12 to 15.

Following Edwards' admission of guilt on Wednesday, his previous boss remarked, "The BBC is stunned by the information revealed in court today. Actions of such reprehensible nature have no room in our organization and we send our sympathies to those impacted."

The statement mentioned that in November 2023, they were informed confidentially that Edwards had been arrested for serious crimes and was released on bail while the police conducted further inquiries.

"At that moment, Mr. Edwards had not been charged with any crimes. The BBC was also notified of serious concerns about his health," the statement went on to say.

The company mentioned that if Mr. Edwards had been charged while working at the BBC, they would have fired him right away. However, at the time of the charge, he was no longer working for the BBC.

Following the court hearing, law enforcement officials stated that the inquiry into Edwards was initiated based on information obtained from a phone that was confiscated during an unrelated investigation. This phone revealed that the broadcaster had engaged in a conversation on WhatsApp.

The police stated that Alex Williams, a 25-year-old man who had previously been convicted of crimes against children, was the individual who exchanged images with Edwards.

Williams admitted to having illegal images of children in categories A, B, and C, and also to distributing them.

He received a 12-month jail sentence, but it was suspended by the court in March at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.

Edwards admitted to three counts of creating inappropriate images of a young person. In legal terms, a photo can also refer to videos.

Creating inappropriate images can be defined broadly in the eyes of the law, and includes more than just capturing or recording the initial picture or video.

The Crown Prosecution Service explains that external child sexual abuse can involve various actions, such as opening an email attachment with an image, downloading an image from a website, saving an image on a computer, visiting a pornographic website with pop-up images, receiving an unsolicited image through social media, or livestreaming child images.

A court also needs to determine if a crime is related to having, sharing, or making something.

As per the Sentencing Council, producing the initial image is considered more severe than the other two categories. They also state that simply downloading an image should be considered as possession for sentencing purposes.

In these situations, individuals may receive a sentence of six months to three years behind bars. Instead of serving time in prison, they may be given a community order that includes participation in a sex offender treatment program, especially when there is a good chance of rehabilitation.