27 February 2024 , 12:35
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The BBC has apologised to the family who lodged a complaint about News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards for not escalating their concerns to senior management quickly enough.
The corporation's bosses said sorry to the relatives of a young person who Edwards is alleged to have given more than £35,000 since they were 17. In July last year, it was first reported that a family had lodged a complaint to the BBC regarding a then unnamed presenter, with Edwards' wife later identifying him as the man in question.
Today, the BBC announced that a review of non-editorial complaints, led by specialists Deloitte, had concluded. Sharing the results publicly, the Beeb stated that safeguards need to be "enhanced" so that complaints can be "escalated and managed" more effectively.
Edwards has not been seen since his last BBC News appearance on July 5 2023. He was suspended by the broadcaster following allegations made against him.
In a statement today, BBC Group Chief Operating Officer Leigh Tavazia said: "The review identifies process improvements we accept those in full, and we are delivering on an action plan with a number of enhancements already in place." She added: "The report identifies specific process shortcomings in the presenter case. The initial complaint in this case was not escalated quickly enough to senior management and we have apologised to the complainant for this."
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She expressed her gratitude to Deloitte for their diligent approach to the review and thanked the BBC staff and complainants interviewed for their contributions. In her statement shared, she added: "Although our existing processes and systems are, on the whole, working effectively, this review shows that we need to join them up better to ensure no matter how a non-editorial complaint comes into the BBC it is escalated swiftly, when needed, and dealt with by the right people."
On the evening of Friday July 7 news broke that a family member had lodged a complaint about Edwards, 62, at a BBC building on May 18, 2023. When the BBC did not respond, the family turned to a newspaper and claimed the BBC had failed to take seriously their concerns.
Huw Edwards has not yet resumed his job as a BBC newsreader (PA)The Sun's initially story and further coverage from other publications prompted a BBC investigation into their star presenter as well as the way it handled complaints from the public. Via a legal letter given to the BBC, the teenager involved in the complaint insisted nothing "unlawful" or "inappropriate" had happened with the presenter.
On 12th July, one week on from an unnamed BBC employee being accused of allegedly paying a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures, Edwards' wife Vicky Flind named him as the man at the centre of the allegations in a statement issued on his behalf.
Vicky's statement read: : "In light of the recent reporting regarding the 'BBC Presenter' I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family. I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children. Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues.
"As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years. The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he'll stay for the foreseeable future.
"Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published. To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday. In the circumstances and given Huw's condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected."
Edwards started working at the BBC as a new trainee in 1984. Two years later, he became the Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC Wales. He first presented the main Six O'Clock News in 1994. In 2003, he started hosting the Ten O'Clock News. In 2011, Edwards was a key presenter at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.
In 2014, he took over the BBC's election coverage when David Dimbleby stepped down. He was also the newsreader who announced Queen Elizabeth's passing in September 2022 and led the BBC's coverage of the official mourning period and her funeral. Edwards has not appeared on any BBC show since July.