THE BBC was caught off guard by criminal charges against former presenter Huw Edwards, with his bosses only informed of the allegations hours before they were made public, a source close to the case has claimed.
Edwards is due to appear in court tomorrow after being charged with child pornography offences after 37 indecent images were allegedly shared in a WhatsApp chat.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that the 62-year-old presenter faces three charges of making indecent images of children between December 2020 and April 2022.
He was arrested on November 8 last year and charged just over a month ago, on June 26, with authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
According to a BBC source, the corporation only discovered that criminal charges against Edwards were pending hours before it was made public. The temperature.
Staff members were shocked by the news, which they said senior management was probably not aware of.
A senior source told The Times: “The BBC has been briefed by the Metropolitan Police when a call came in [on Monday].’
Edwards – who ran royal and political events at the BBC before resigning in April – has been released on bail and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, Edwards is accused of having six category A images, 12 category B photos and 19 category C photographs on WhatsApp.
The offences are contrary to sections 1(1)(a) and 6 of the Protection of Children Act 1978, and if convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Category A covers images involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal or sadism; Category B covers images that show non-penetrative sexual activity; while Category C covers indecent images that do not fall into Categories B or C.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told MailOnline yesterday: ‘Huw Edwards, 62, of Southwark, London, has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children following a Metropolitan Police investigation.
“The offences, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat.
“Edwards was arrested on 8 November 2023. He was charged on Wednesday 26 June following authorisation by the Crown Prosecution Service. He has been released on bail and will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday 31 July.”
Edwards, a married father of five, resigned in April following allegations he paid someone for sexually explicit photos.
The Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police both said in July last year that no criminal offences had been committed by Edwards.
Edwards was absent from the screens from the story breaking in July 2023 until its release in April 2024.
He remained on the payroll while suspended, which is normal BBC policy, and suffered from serious mental health problems and received hospital treatment.
The BBC confirmed at the time of his departure that he had not received any compensation and was leaving “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors”.
He had long been a regular in covering major political and royal events, announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II on the BBC and presenting coverage of her funeral.
He also presented the BBC’s coronation broadcast last year.
Last week, the BBC confirmed that Edwards had been paid more than £475,000 in 2023/24 before resigning and leaving.
The veteran news presenter was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 for the 2023/24 year for 160 days of presenting, BBC One news specials, election specials and other television programmes, according to the BBC’s annual report.
This is an increase from 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999 for 180 days of presenting on BBC One, as well as news specials.
Over the years, Edwards has hosted the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now the Prince and Princess of Wales) in 2011, the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018 and the funeral of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2021.
The BBC News At Ten presenter was also the broadcaster’s voice during Trooping the Colour and the Festival of Remembrance, and took over election coverage from long-serving David Dimbleby in 2019.