Huw Edwards has been named as the BBC presenter who allegedly paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images.
Edward, the BBC’s highest-paid news anchor, was named by his wife Vicky Flind, who said the presenter was “suffering from serious mental health issues” after being at the eye of an enormous media storm.
She added that Edwards, who was suspended by the BBC on Sunday, was receiving in-patient hospital care and will respond to the allegations against him when he is in a position to do so.
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In a separate statement, the Metropolitan Police said no criminal offense had been committed by Edwards following its scoping exercise of the available evidence.
The BBC said it would now move forward with its own investigation into Edwards’ alleged conduct, ensuring that it conducts a “thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”
It follows The Sun newspaper reporting that the BBC star had given a teen more than £35,000 ($45,000) in return for sex pictures. The exchanges allegedly began in 2020 when the young person was aged 17.
Since The Sun’s allegations were published last Friday, other young people have come forward to make claims about Edwards, including one person who alleged that he received abusive messages from the presenter.
Flind’s statement ends five days of wild speculation about the identity of the presenter, which has resulted in the peculiar spectacle of other BBC stars having to distance themselves from the story after being defamed on social media.
One of the BBC’s highest-profile and most-respected news presenters, Edwards was at the peak of his powers. He was trusted with anchoring prestige coverage of major events and was lauded last year for delivering the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death to the nation.
Deadline revealed in February that Edwards, 61, was on the brink of signing a new three-year deal with the BBC. The Welshman first joined the corporation as a trainee in 1984, meaning his contract will take him past 40 years at the British broadcaster. Edwards earns as much as £440,000.
Flind said: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.
“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.
“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published. To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
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Huw Edwards Named As Presenter Who Allegedly Paid Young Person For Sex Images
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