10 August 2024 , 13:23
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The family that blew the whistle on Huw Edwards is demanding he pay back the six-figure sum after BBC bosses revealed they felt conned by a ’villain leading a double life’
Huw Edwards is being urged to pay back every penny the disgraced BBC star received while suspended from his role.
A family, who blew the whistle on the former presenter, say he should pay back the six-figure sum he was given while off-air.
Edwards, 62, resigned from the BBC this year during an investigation into child pornography offences for which he was subsequently convicted. Huw Edwards was accused of a string of allegations, including paying a teenager for sexually explicit photos in 2023.
Edwards was named by his wife Vicky Flind as the BBC presenter suspended following allegations last year
The veteran news anchor was later named in a statement released by his wife, which also said he was suffering from "serious mental health issues". Samir Shah, BBC chairman, gave a statement on behalf of the board condemning him for his actions and also confirming the organisation was asking him to return the money paid after his arrest for child abuse images.
It’s understood that Edwards continued to be paid from licence fee funds after he was first arrested in November. His pay cheques kept coming as his lawyers cited Hew’s mental health problems.
The family who blew the whistle on Huw Edwards now say he must pay back every penny he received while suspended including the £200,000 he got after his arrest in November. They told the Sun they even think he should go one step further - paying back the £355,000 he would have received since the allegations first came to light in July 2023.
Mr Shah said in his statement that Edwards was a "villain who was living a double life" and "undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute". Edwards had long been the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with its accounts putting him in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24.
In an email to BBC colleagues sent on Friday (August 9) afternoon, Mr Shah said the corporation would "do more". It said: ’Dear colleagues, it’s been over a week since the news broke about Huw Edwards and his crimes. It was a shock to discover that Huw Edwards was living a double life.
"On the face of it, he was a much-admired broadcaster with whom the BBC had entrusted the responsibility of anchoring its flagship news programme and presiding over national events but he betrayed the trust of staff and our audiences in the most egregious possible way.
"Let me be clear: the villain of this piece is Huw Edwards; the victims are those children for whose degradation Huw Edwards provided a market for. Whilst I was not chair when the BBC was first alerted to Mr Edwards’ behaviour and the consequent actions taken, I - and the Board - have now had detailed accounts from BBC executives about what happened."