31 July 2024 , 21:08
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The BBC knew in November that Huw Edwards had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences, the corporation said.
It said the news presenter, who resigned from his job in April, would have been dismissed had he been charged while still employed by the BBC.
Its statement came after Edwards pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to three counts of making indecent images of children.
He accessed indecent images of children as young as seven on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, which police said were sent to him by a convicted paedophile.
The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has called an urgent meeting with the BBC’s director general over the organisation’s handling of the case. Sources said the meeting is likely to take place on Thursday.
BBC News was not aware of the arrest nor charges against Edwards until they were made public on Monday. BBC News is editorially independent when reporting on the BBC.
’Abhorrent behaviour’
After Edwards pleaded guilty, the corporation said: "The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected."
It said it had been "made aware in confidence" in November 2023 that Edwards "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," the statement continued.
The corporation noted: "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."
It reiterated that the BBC had "kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions" during this period.
"We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected," the statement said.
Edwards was suspended by the BBC last July following reports in the Sun newspaper claiming he had paid a young person for sexually explicit images.
The Metropolitan Police said they found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to those allegations, and that the current case was separate.
Last week, the BBC’s annual report revealed Edwards received between £475,000-£479,999 between April 2023 and April 2024, an increase of £40,000 on the previous year.
A BBC source said the corporation "did not believe there was any legal recourse to recoup any previous pay or future pension money" from Edwards.
Edwards admitted having 41 indecent images of children, which had been sent to him by another man on WhatsApp.
They included seven category A images, the most serious classification - two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine.
Category A images show serious abuse including penetrative sexual activity.
He also had 12 category B pictures, which involve non-penetrative sexual activity, and 22 photographs in category C, which covers other indecent images. The category B and C pictures showed children aged between 12 to 15.
After the hearing on Wednesday, police said the investigation into Edwards began after a phone seized as part of an unrelated probe revealed the broadcaster’s participation in a WhatsApp conversation.
The force said 25-year-old convicted paedophile Alex Williams was the man who shared images with Edwards.
Williams pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
He was sentenced to a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in March.
’Making’ indecent images - what does the law say?
Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of a child. In the law, a photograph can also mean video footage.
"Making" indecent images can have a wide legal definition, and covers more than simply taking or filming the original picture or clip.
The Crown Prosecution Service says it can include opening an email attachment containing an image; downloading an image from a website to a screen; storing an image on a computer; accessing a pornographic website in which an images appears in an automatic "pop-up" window; receiving an image via social media, even if unsolicited and even if part of a group; or live-streaming images of children.
A court must also decide whether an offence falls into the category of possession, distribution or production.
According to the Sentencing Council, creating the original image counts as production - the more serious of the three categories. It adds that "making an image by simple downloading should be treated as possession for the purposes of sentencing".
In such cases, sentences can range from six months to three years in prison. However, a community order with a sex offender treatment programme requirement can be an alternative to jail time "where there is a sufficient prospect of rehabilitation".