BBC Resumes Huw Edwards Enquiry as Police Find No Criminality
The BBC has announced a resumption of its investigation into presenter Huw Edwards after police found no evidence of criminality regarding claims that he paid a young person for explicit images.
Edwards’ wife named him as the presenter at the heart of the allegations, stating that he was in hospital with “serious mental health issues”. The reopening of the BBC’s enquiry followed a statement from the Metropolitan Police that found there was “no information to indicate” that a criminal offence had been committed.
The presenter’s identity was not initially disclosed in the allegations published on 7 July by the Sun website, where it was reported that he had paid a young person (now 20) for sexually explicit photographs beginning from when they were 17. The wording of the allegation was changed in subsequent versions of the Sun’s story, stating instead that “it is understood contact between the two started when the youngster was 17”.
The paper had quoted the young person’s mother, who claimed that her child had used the money payed for the images to fund a crack cocaine habit. A lawyer for the young person has since dismissed the allegations as “rubbish”, but the family have stood by their claims.
“We will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts,” a BBC spokesperson said regarding the investigation.
