How Huw Edwards scandal unfolded: From initial allegations last week to his wife naming him publicly tonight
- READ: Huw Edwards news latest: BBC presenter named by his wife Vicky Flind
From initial allegations last week to being named by his wife publicly tonight, this is how the Huw Edwards scandal unfolded.
The naming of Mr Edwards as the ‘BBC presenter’ followed days of speculation after The Sun newspaper reported an unnamed man had allegedly paid £35,000 to a young person over the course of three years for sexually explicit photos.
Mr Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind issued a shock statement tonight on his behalf and revealed the her husband, 61, was ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ following the claims.
He is accused of sending cash to a teenager in return for sexual photographs over three years, starting when the youth was 17. The teen is alleged to have use it to fund a crack cocaine habit. Three more young people have since made allegations against the broadcaster.
Minutes before Mr Edwards was revealed to be the accused presenter, the Met Police dropped their probe into the allegations, saying ‘no offence has been committed’ and that they were taking no further action.
Shortly after Ms Flind’s statement, it was revealed her husband now faces fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour tonight from his own BBC colleagues.
Here is a full timeline of the scandal that has engulfed the BBC, based on what we know so far:
Mr Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind issued a shock statement tonight on his behalf and revealed the her husband, 61, was ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ following the claims
April
The mother and step-father of a young person contact an unnamed police force to make allegations about the behaviour of a top BBC star towards their child.
The parents claimed the presenter had paid the teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photographs between the ages of 17 and 20, the money from which was used to fund a crack cocaine addiction.
The force has since confirmed it looked into the claims, but ‘no criminality was identified’, it said in a statement to the BBC.
May 18
A family member goes to a BBC building to make an in-person complaint about the behaviour of the presenter and asking him to stop sending money to their child, a month after going to the police.
May 19
The family contact BBC Audience Services to make a formal complaint over the phone. The corporation says its records show this call lasted 29 minutes.
The details of this call were then sent to the Corporate Investigations Team, which assessed the information provided.
BBC director general Tim Davie said the team determined there were no allegations of criminal behaviour but the claims were ‘none the less was very serious’ and merited further investigation.
The corporation claims the team emailed the family to say they were looking into it and asking for additional information, but received no response.
It added that it began conducting checks to verify the identify of the complainant, to confirm they were who they said they were.
June 6
The Corporate Investigations Team phones a mobile number given by the complainant, but it does not connect.
The BBC says the team decided to return to the complaint in a number of weeks and kept the case open, although they did not attempt to contact the family again after June 6.
Explaining why no contact was made with the complainant for more than a month, Mr Davie told Sarah Montague on BBC Radio 4’s World At One, ‘thousands’ of complaints are made and it is ‘appropriate’ there is a verification process.
‘Some verification of that claim is appropriate once the Corporate Investigations team has taken something on, they do some due diligence on what is being alleged,’ he said.
BBC director general Tim Davie (pictured) said the initial claims made to the BBC were not allegations of criminal behaviour, but were ‘none the less very serious’
The BBC (file photo) was contacted by The Sun about the allegations on July 6, which lead to Mr Davie and other senior executives first becoming aware of the claims
July 6
The Sun contacts the BBC press office about allegations regarding the presenter in question. The source of these claims is the same family who approached the BBC on May 18 and 19.
Despite the seniority of the presenter, this is the first time Mr Davie or any executives at the corporation become aware of the case and the complaints.
Speaking this week, Mr Davie said the nature of these complaints made to The sun are different to those originally given to the BBC in May.
He said: ‘When The Sun made new allegations on July 6 they were different to the matters considered by BBC Corporate Investigations and those new allegations clearly related to potential criminal activity, criminality, that in a nutshell is the difference.’
The BBC creates an task force to lead the response to the case, which includes senior executives as well as Mr Davie. The Acting Chair of the corporation, Professor Dame Elan Closs Stephens, and the Board, are updated as to its progress.
The enquiry by the Sun leads to a senior manager holding the first conversation on this matter with the presenter concerned, as they inform him about the claims being made.
The decision is made not to have the presenter go on air while the claims are being looked into.
July 7
After being contacted by The Sun, the Corporate Investigations Team at the BBC contact the complainant again, who was in touch with the BBC’s investigators.
The alleged victim’s family details the accusations in a newspaper interview, claiming the presenter paid for the explicit photographs for three years.
The alleged victim’s mother also claimed the teenager used the cash to fund their spiralling drug habit.
The BBC contacts the police regarding the claims and initiate its Serious Case Management Framework (SCMF).
The investigation by the Corporate Investigations Team was brought into the SCMF, which is chaired by a Human Resources Director at the BBC.
July 8
The family send the BBC ‘materials related to the complaint’ as it is revealed the presenter could face a police probe over potential crimes which carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.
As rumours and speculation swirl on social media as to the star’s identity, other major names at the BBC are forced to issue statements denying they are the man behind the scandal.
The likes of Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine all issued firm denials, while Nicky Campbell contacted the police after being wrongly accused of being the presenter in question.
The BBC, led by director-general Tim Davie (left), met the Met Police yesterday, led by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (right), on Monday
July 9
The BBC confirms it has suspended the presenter and issues a statement saying it takes ‘any allegations seriously’.
It came after the culture secretary Lucy Frazer held ‘urgent talks’ with BBC boss Tim Davie, with the minister describing the allegations as ‘deeply concerning’.
Following a phone call with Mr Davie, she tweeted: ‘I have spoken to BBC director-general Tim Davie about the deeply concerning allegations involving one of its presenters.
‘He has assured me the BBC are investigating swiftly and sensitively.’
She added: ‘Given the nature of the allegations it is important that the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action. I will be kept updated.’
Director-general Tim Davie sends an internal email to staff reiterating that the BBC is taking the allegations ‘incredibly seriously’.
He added: ‘By law, individuals are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is making this situation more complex. I also want to be very clear that I am wholly condemning the unsubstantiated rumours being made on the internet about some of our presenting talent.
‘We are in contact with the family referenced in the media reports. I want to assure you that we are working rapidly to establish the facts and to ensure that these matters are handled fairly and with care, including by external authorities where appropriate.’
July 10
The BBC hold an online meeting with the Metropolitan Police to report the matter and discuss how to progress the investigation.
The police request that the BBC pause its probes into the allegations while the force looks into whether it needs to investigate the claims.
Speaking at the launch of the BBC’s annual report Mr Davie says: ‘As you know yesterday, the BBC corporate investigations team had a meeting with the police in relation to the information provided to the BBC by The Sun newspaper on Thursday.
‘As a result of this. The BBC has been asked to pause its own investigations into the allegations while they scope future work. We will pass any material that we have to them.’
Later that evening the young person at the centre of the claims dramatically denies the allegations made by their parents, calling them ‘rubbish’ and saying nothing inappropriate or unlawful had taken place.
However, their mother and step-father hit back hours later saying they stood by their story and accused the presenter of ‘getting into their head’, suggesting the star had paid for their child’s lawyer.
July 11
BBC director general Tim Davie defends the delay in speaking to the presenter and denies it’s ‘odd’ he hasn’t personally spoken with them yet.
Asked if it was ‘odd’ that that he himself has not chatted to the presenter, Davie replied: ‘No’, adding: ‘I think it is critical they are spoken to by a very senior manager’.
He was also asked if he knew ‘categorically’ whether or not the star paid for the alleged victim’s lawyer.
He said: ‘That’s not information I am party to. I don’t even think that’s something for the BBC.’
But he did admit that the scandal had been ‘clearly damaging’ to the corporation’s reputation.
‘The BBC is often in the midst of quite painful and difficult affairs and storms,’ he said before adding: ‘These are clearly damaging to the BBC it, is not a good situation.’
Later in the day reports emerged claiming the presenter had sent abusive and menacing messages to a person in their 20s after meeting them anonymously on a dating site.
They claim they were put under pressure to meet with the star but never did, the BBC reported.
When they hinted online that they might name them, they allege they were sent abusive messages that were filled with expletives.
July 12
Newsreader Huw Edwards is named by his own wife as the BBC star accused of paying £35,000 to a vulnerable teenager in return for explicit photographs.
Vicky Flind’s shock statement came minutes after Scotland Yard dropped their probe into the allegations.
She revealed her husband, 61, who was last on screen on July 5 during the King’s visit to Scotland, is ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ following the claims that emerged in The Sun six days ago.
In a statement released by Mr Edward’s wife Vicky Flind, she said that he was receiving in-patient hospital care
Ms Flind, who also works in TV, said the father-of-five is ‘now receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future’ as she asked for privacy for her family, declaring: ‘I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children’.
She added: ‘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. Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published’.
Ms Flind’s statement was released at 6pm, however, there was confusion as the BBC first said Mr Edwards, who recently led coverage of the Queen’s death and King Charles’ Coronation, had resigned from his role as their top newsreader. But minutes later the corporation clarify that he had not quit. Sources close to the star have since stressed that he has not left his job.
He is accused of sending cash to a teenager in return for sexual photographs over three years, starting when the youth was 17. The teen is alleged to have use it to fund a crack cocaine habit. Three more young people have since made allegations against the broadcaster.
Minutes before Mr Edwards was named, the Met Police dropped its probe into the allegations, announcing it would be taking ‘no further action’ and concluding that no ‘criminal offence has been committed’.
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards has been named by his wife Vicky Flind as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images
A statement from the force said: ‘Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.’
The Met’s statement regarding the allegations said a number of parties had been spoken to, including the BBC, the alleged complainant and their family ‘via another police force’ and concluded there would be no further police action.
And tonight, shortly after Mr Edwards was named, it was revealed the presenter faces fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour tonight from his own BBC colleagues.
Junior staff members revealed to the Six O’Clock News and Newsnight that the presenter, 61, had sent ‘inappropriate messages’ to them – but also confirmed that they had not previously officially complained to the Corporation.
In the hours that followed Ms Flind’s statement, three BBC employees, two current and one former, then came forward with claims. A current employee said they received inappropriate and suggestive messages from the presenter, while two more, one who has since left, said they have received messages which made them feel uncomfortable.
One said they felt it was an abuse of power by someone very senior in the organisation.
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