Huw Edwards: Former BBC presenter given suspended sentence over indecent images of children

The disgraced newsreader was told his "reputation is in tatters" as he was sentenced on three charges, after receiving 41 illegal images from a convicted paedophile.

Huw Edwards has been spared jail for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.

The former BBC presenter was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London after he pleaded guilty to three counts of "making" indecent images of children.

The court heard how he paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.

Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

Sentencing him, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Edwards his "reputation is now in tatters" and called his crimes "extremely serious offences".

The disgraced broadcaster held his hands together and leaned forward throughout the hearing as he was handed six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

As part of his sentence, the 63-year-old must attend a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

He is also required to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.

Following the sentencing, a BBC spokesperson said: "We are appalled by his crimes. He has betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him."

Edwards offered ’naughty pics’

Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court Edwards had been assessed as posing a "medium risk of causing serious harm to children".

The newsreader was sent the illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams over WhatsApp.

Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police - receiving a 12-month suspended sentence.

The court heard one WhatsApp exchange in which Williams had offered Edwards "naughty pics and vids," adding that they were "yng looking" [sic].

Edwards twice told him to "go on" and Williams sent a Category A moving image - the most serious category - showing a male child aged around seven to nine, the hearing was told.

On asking for more images, Williams told Edwards he was "not sure" if he would like them as they were illegal, to which the newsreader responded: "Ah OK don’t".

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with Williams telling Edwards the child was "quite young looking" and that he had more images which were illegal.

The images involved in Edwards’ case included seven category A images, 12 category B images, and 22 category C images.

The court heard that Edwards had told his probation officer that his offending arose out of his fixation on online communications of a sexual nature, his poor mental health, using alcohol and the deterioration of his marriage.

The hearing was told of Edwards’ "long-standing mental health struggles" and how he had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis - a vascular disease which causes the gradual hardening of arteries - last December.

Mr Hope noted "the effect of these conditions includes impact on and impairment of mood, behaviour and judgement".

The court heard Edwards is an in-patient at a private hospital.

A ’betrayal’ of trust

Edwards’ barrister Philip Evans KC had made submissions on the ex-newsreader’s behalf, saying his client did not get any gratification from the indecent images.

Mr Evans said money sent to Williams by Edwards was "certainly not" for indecent images and pointed out that Williams "sought out" Edwards rather than the other way around.

The barrister said the former newsreader had "no memory of viewing any particular images".

Calling the media coverage of the case "extraordinary," Mr Evans said Edwards wanted to apologise to the court and express "how profoundly sorry he is".

The barrister said Edwards "recognises the repugnant nature and the hurt done to those who appear" in the images and "for his part in that he apologises sincerely and makes clear he has the utmost regret".

He also said Edwards recognises he has "betrayed the priceless trust" placed in him, damaged his family and is "truly sorry he’s committed these offences".

Delivering his sentence, the judge said Edwards would be "particularly vulnerable" if he was given a custodial sentence, both from attack from others and as a suicide risk.

He referred to a report which described Edwards "psychologically challenging upbringing", with a father who was "highly regarded" publicly but who was perceived to behave "monstrously" within the family.

The report also outlined the breakdown of Edwards’ marriage to TV producer Vicky Flind, saying the broadcaster didn’t consider his bisexuality to be an excuse for his infidelity.

BBC career

During his four decades at the BBC, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams covering historic events, with his most high-profile moment coming in September 2022, when he announced the late Queen’s death.

Last week, BBC chairman Samir Shah admitted the Edwards had "damaged" the reputation of the corporation.

The BBC is attempting to recover an estimated £200,000 in pay from Edwards, who continued to be paid a salary for around five months after the corporation discovered he had been arrested in November 2023.

Edwards resigned from the BBC in April citing medical advice.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, "making" an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts.

It can range from opening an attachment to an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic "pop-up" mechanism.

In the case of Edwards, he received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation.

Mr Evans said his client had not "created" the images "in the traditional sense of the word".

Emma Davis