BBC Asks Ex-Presenter Huw Edwards To Pay Back $250,000 After He Pleads Guilty To Having Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

The BBC has ordered former broadcaster Huw Edwards to return the more than £200,000 ($254,767) he earned in salary payments following his arrest in November on suspicion of possessing “indecent images of children” – charges to which he pleaded guilty last week.

“Mr. Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime,” the publicly sponsored channel stated on Friday. “If he had been honest when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would not have continued to pay him public money. He has undoubtedly weakened trust in the BBC and dragged us into contempt.”

BBC Asks Ex-Presenter Huw Edwards To Pay Back $250,000 After He Pleads Guilty To Having Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

According to a BBC News piece released on Friday, Edwards earned more than £200,000 between his arrest in November and his resignation in April of this year.

CNN contacted Edwards’ lawyers for comment but has yet to get a response.

According to PA Media, Edwards pleaded guilty last Wednesday to possessing 41 “indecent images of children,” all under the age of 18, on the messaging service WhatsApp. In a statement issued this week, the BBC stated that it was aware in November that the 62-year-old had been arrested on “suspicion of serious offences and released on bail,” but that no charges had been filed against Edwards.

The declaration continued: “If at any point during the period Mr. Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.”

Edwards was a well-known face in British television news, hosting coverage of big state events like royal weddings and funerals. He publicly revealed Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022 on live television.

According to the BBC’s annual report, Edwards earned between £475,000 ($605,046) and £479,999 ($611,413) in the fiscal year that ended March 31, making him the corporation’s third-highest-paid employee during that time. The BBC stated in the article that it reveals employee wages in ranges rather than single digits.

According to PA Media, Edwards’ offenses occurred between December 2020 and August 2021. Edwards pleaded guilty in London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The court heard that the presenter had been in contact with an adult man on WhatsApp who sent him 377 sexual photographs, 41 of which were indecent images of minors.

The court also heard that Edwards instructed a man on WhatsApp not to give him photographs of youngsters. The final indecent image was received in August 2021, containing a category A video of a young boy – a categorization of child abuse images under English law for “images involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal, or…sadism.”

Edwards pleaded guilty to the charge of “making indecent images of children.” According to Crown Prosecution Service guidance, “making” might have a broad legal definition, such as downloading a photograph from a website or receiving an image via social media, even if it was unsolicited or part of a group.

Edwards’ lawyer, Philip Evans, stated that there is no evidence to show that he generated any image.

“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,” Evan told reporters.

BBC Asks Ex-Presenter Huw Edwards To Pay Back $250,000 After He Pleads Guilty To Having Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

After his imprisonment, the BBC has received harsh criticism for keeping Edwards on the payroll.

The corporation stated in a statement Friday that members of its board had met several times in the previous week to discuss “what was known in the lead-up to Mr. Edwards being charged and pleading guilty,” as well as how it had handled complaints and conducted its investigations into the presenter’s behaviour.

The BBC stated that it intends to commission an independent assessment to recommend how to “strengthen a workplace culture” consistent with its principles.

SOURCE | BBC