THE BBC has admitted it did know about Huw Edwards’ arrest in November – but continued to pay him for another five months.
The ex-news anchor, 62, today admitted being sent a string of indecent photos of children – including sexual videos of a boy as young as seven.
Edwards received the pictures on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
The corporation today admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested in November while the newsreader was suspended.
This means the star – one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters – continued to receive his £475,000 salary.
Edwards remained employed by the company for a further five months before he quit in April.
The BBC also said it was “shocked” to hear the details that emerged in court and said there is “no place for such abhorrent behaviour”.
It added: “The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.
“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.
“At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.
“Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.
“In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.
“During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.”
Questions have mounted over how much the BBC knew about its star news anchor, who fronted high-profile stories over his 40-year career.
This included leading coverage of the Queen‘s funeral and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s wedding.
At the time of the offences, Edwards fronted coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
He also hosted a programme from Windsor Castle the night before the funeral, called HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Remembered.
Katie Razzall, a BBC media editor and newsreader, said today: “When did the BBC learn of his arrest? Why was he still being paid five months after he was arrested in November?
“Will the BBC try to recoup his salary? And there are questions for him too – did he inform the BBC when he was arrested?
“And my understanding was that there had been little contact, if no contact, but we just don’t know and these are all questions that we’ve put to the BBC, that we’re hoping and expecting an answer on.”
Speaking earlier today, Professor Tim Luckhurst, a former BBC executive, said there had been “the revelation of a dark side of which his colleagues were not aware”.
“This is a dark side which has emerged, which is clearly a criminal dark side,” he added.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told seven of the 41 images fall under Category A – the most serious classification.
This included two moving images of a young boy, possibly aged seven and nine years old.
He also had photos of other children aged between 13 and 15 stored on his phone.
A further 12 images were classed as Category B and 19 as Category C.
The ex-presenter could face a maximum of ten years in prison when he is sentenced on September 16.
Prosecutor Ian Hope stressed Edwards had not created any of the images himself.
He said the newsreader was involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
During this time, the man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
The man has now been identified as Alex Williams, 25, who previously pleaded guilty to a string of child sex offences.
When police launched a probe into the paedo, they seized a phone that exposed Edwards’ crimes.
The bulk of these – 36 images – were sent during a two month period, the court heard.
In August 2021, the man asked Edwards whether the pictures he was sending were too young – causing the broadcaster to ask not to send anything illegal.
No more of these pictures or video were sent and the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.
Edwards’ barrister Philip Evans KC told the court there was no suggestion the ex-newsreader had made or created any of the images.
He also said no indecent images had been found on any of Edwards’ own devices and he had not looked for any such material from anyone else.
The lawyer added: “There’s no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has… in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.
“It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards’ devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there’s nothing in those devices.
“It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.
“Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.”
The veteran broadcaster was arrested in November and charged on June 26 – although the information has only just been released.
The CPS has defended its decision to reveal the information on Monday ahead of his first court appearance – despite a lawyer describing the move as “puzzling”.
Edwards quit the BBC in April after 40 years reporting on some of the world’s biggest stories.
This included leading coverage of the Queen’s funeral and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s wedding.
He was one of the BBC’s highest-profile and highest-paid presenters with a pay bracket between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24.
The Sun revealed yesterday how the dad-of-five has split from his TV producer wife.
Edwards has moved out of the family home in Dulwich, South London, he shared with Vicky.
The couple, who got engaged in 1993, have three sons and two daughters.
