(London) The BBC resumed its internal investigation on Thursday into Huw Edwards, its star presenter at the center of a scandal over sexual photos, also now targeted by accusations from employees of the British public broadcasting group.
The affair has been in the press for six days, but the name of the journalist, suspended on Sunday, was only revealed on Wednesday evening by his wife. The portrait of Huw Edwards is on the front page of all British newspapers on Thursday.
This BBC figure, who for 20 years had presented the 10 p.m. newspaper, the group’s flagship program, was hospitalized, suffering from depression. “Once he is in a position to do so, he intends to respond to the articles that have been published,” his wife Vicky Flind said in a statement.
At the same time, police said they had found no evidence that a criminal offense had been committed.
The BBC announced in the process that it would resume its internal investigation, put on hold at the request of the police, promising to “carry out a thorough assessment of the facts”.
“The group’s immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved,” chief executive Tim Davie said in a letter to BBC workers.
The charges against Huw Edwards, a 61-year-old father, have been falling to a trickle since Friday evening. The tabloid The Sunone of the BBC’s most vocal critics, then quoted a woman – unnamed – as saying her child, who was initially 17, had received 35,000 pounds ($60,000) from the presenter over three years, “in return of sordid photos”, which had fed his addiction to crack.
Suggestive messages
This person, now 20, reacted on Monday evening by calling his mother’s accusations “bullshit”.
The tabloid said on Tuesday that the presenter had visited in February 2021 during the anti-COVID-19 confinement at the home of a 23-year-old person met on an application. The young person described him as “very arrogant” and “very pushy” and added that the presenter paid him 650 pounds (around $1120) after they met.
BBC News also revealed that the presenter sent threats from his mobile phone to another young person he met on an app, after the youngster suggested he was going to reveal his identity. THE Sun also claimed that he contacted another 17-year-old, whom he did not know, on Instagram in 2018.
On Wednesday evening, the BBC reported allegations from a current and former employee of the band, who said they had received “inappropriate” and “suggestive” messages from Huw Edwards, “some late at night and ending in kisses”.
“Young employees are reluctant to complain to their superiors about the conduct of famous colleagues”, fearing “negative consequences on their career”, they explained, according to the BBC.
For his part, the Sun, which is owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s group, has come under fire for its coverage of the case. He said he would not issue any further charges in the case.
Huw Edwards, who had previously suffered from depression and talked about it in interviews, will remain in hospital “for the foreseeable future”, his wife said.