The name of the star BBC presenter accused of child pornography was finally revealed on Wednesday by his wife. Huw Edwards was notably the one who announced the Queen’s death live, on September 8, 2022.
The British public broadcasting group has been at the center of a sex scandal for several days now. Friday, July 7, the tabloid The Sun published the anonymous testimony of a mother accusing a star BBC presenter of trying to obtain photos of her underage, naked child. Until now, his identity was kept very secret, despite pressure from newspapers, deputies and even some of his colleagues, who found themselves accused in his place.
>> UK: BBC suspends presenter accused of paying minor for ‘sexually explicit photographs’
Wednesday, July 12, the wife of Huw Edwards took the floor, and confessed that these accusations were aimed at her husband. “I make this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after five extremely difficult days for our family”, wrote his wife Vicky Flind in a press release, while her husband, suffering from chronic depression, is hospitalized for mental health problems. On the same day, the police announced that they ruled out any crime, not having observed any criminal offense in this case.
BBC journalist for almost 40 years
Born in South Wales, Huw Edwards began his career as a journalist after studying French. He began his career in Wales and joined the BBC in 1984. First a political journalist, he then rose through the ranks. In 1994, he became the presenter of the 6 p.m. news, then that of the evening, from 2003.
For 20 years, he has become one of the UK’s best-known and highest-paid presenters at the BBC. On average, he receives 400,000 pounds per year (more than 460,000 euros). In 2018, he took a pay cut when the BBC gender pay scandal broke.
He announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II live
In more than 40 years in the business, Huw Edwards has covered major current events for the BBC, such as the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2008, or the death of Nelson Mandela in 2013. But he has also accompanied viewers at historic events in Britain. He commented on the wedding of the royal couple William and Kate, the opening of the London Olympics in 2012 and more recently the coronation of Charles III.
But Huw Edwards is best known for being the face who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II live.
On September 8, 2022, the BBC launched a special program, and it was the face of the British presenter who solemnly announced: “Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”. He had then hardly left the antenna until the funeral of the sovereign.
>> Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96, after 70 years of reign, announces Buckingham Palace
He is accused of child pornography…
If Huw Edwards is one of the most famous presenters in the United Kingdom, his name is now associated with accusations of child pornography against him. In the testimony published by The Sun last Friday, a mother accuses the 61-year-old man of having paid 35,000 pounds (nearly 40,000 euros) to her 17-year-old child, over a period of three years, in exchange for pornographic photos. This would have reinforced the child’s addiction to crack, according to the mother.
For his part, the minor in question (his gender is not specified in the article of the Sun), denied the accusations by the voice of his lawyer. The latter affirmed, in a letter received by the British public broadcasting giant, that “nothing improper or illegal took place between [son] client and BBC personality”. “The accusations reported in the newspaper The Sun are bullshit”added the lawyer, according to the BBC.
…and abusive and threatening behavior
Since these revelations, other accusations have been published in the British press. The Sun claims the presenter visited the home of a 23-year-old in February 2021, in the midst of Covid-19 restrictions. The young person described it as “very arrogant” And “very insistent”, and added that Huw Edwards had paid him 650 pounds (about 760 euros), after their meeting. THE Sun also claimed that he contacted another 17-year-old, whom he did not know, on Instagram in 2018.
BBC News has revealed the presenter sent threats from his mobile phone to another young person he met on a dating site, after the youngster suggested he was going to reveal his identity.
Faced with these numerous revelations, the BBC said it wanted to continue internal investigations to shed light on this affair. The chain has also suspended Huw Edwards since Sunday, two days after the revelations of the Sun.