Former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children.
The 63-year-old said he was “deeply sorry” for the “disgusting” images before being sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Monday in a case that shocked the UK.
He will also have to take part in a sex offender rehabilitation programme, which will consist of 25 sessions in total. The suspended sentence means Edwards will only serve time in prison if he reoffends within the next two years.
The former news presenter was arrested in November and charged in July after he was found in possession of 41 indecent images of children sent to him by another man, a convicted paedophile, on WhatsApp.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2020 and 2022. Seven of the photos were Category A images, the most serious classification, including two showing a child aged between seven and nine, the court heard.
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter After his conviction was announced, he said: “We are appalled by his crimes. He has betrayed not only the BBC but the public who placed their trust in him.”
The presenter, who hosted the BBC's flagship show News at ten programme and led the corporation's landmark coverage – including the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the 2012 London Olympics – arrived at court before a swarm of photographers. He was suspended by the BBC in July 2023 after allegations The sun It was revealed that he had paid a teenage girl for sexually explicit photos (police took no action against Edwards over the allegations, saying there was no evidence that a criminal offence had been committed). He officially resigned from the channel in April this year.
But the UK's leading news organisation has had to answer an inquiry to find out exactly what it knew and when. Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 (about $627,000 to $632,000) from April 2023 to April 2024. Last month, he was asked to repay the BBC about £200,000 ($255,000).
The Metropolitan Police told the BBC “in confidence” that Mr Edwards was arrested in November. Chief Constable Tim Davie said: “We knew it was serious, we didn't have any specific information other than the category of potential offences.”
He added that BBC bosses were not aware of the ages of the children in the footage, and when asked why Edwards was not sacked when he was arrested, Davie replied: “Because the police came to us and told us they had to do their job confidentially, [and said]“Please keep this confidential.”
“We thought long and hard about this. It was not an impulsive decision. If you look at it in terms of precedent, people do get arrested, and we've had situations where [there are] “No charges have been laid and there is nothing to follow.” Davie said the BBC also had to consider its duty of care to Edwards.
Even the UK government's Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has stepped in to question the BBC over its handling of the affair. A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: The Hollywood Reporter In August, Nandy said she was “shocked” by Edwards' “abhorrent actions”. The DCMS said it was for the courts to decide on an “appropriate sentence” for the former news presenter.
In UK law, images can be photographs or videos. ‘Creating’ indecent images covers a range of actions under its legal definition. This can include, for example, opening an email attachment containing an image; downloading an image from a website onto a screen; storing an image on a computer; accessing a pornographic website where the images appear in ‘pop-up’ windows; receiving an image via social media, even if it is unsolicited and part of a group; and live streaming images of children.
Following the announcement of Edwards' guilty plea, a Doctor Who The episode starring the former news presenter has been removed from BBC iPlayer. Fans are also being called out for his scene in the James Bond film Fall from the sky to be cut.
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