BBC faced 'huge pressure' to name Huw Edwards as presenter at heart of scandal
The BBC was under “huge pressure” to release the identity of the presenter accused of purchasing sexually explicit photographs from a young person.
The corporation was rocked after it was alleged one of its leading stars had paid £35,000 for the material following a claims from the young person's parents – which the young person later branded "rubbish" via a lawyer. Initially, the suspended star facing the allegations was unnamed as a number of male BBC presenters came forward to deny they were the person in question.
Huw Edwards' wife Vicky Flind later came forward and made a statement to confirm the BBC News at 10 presenter was the star facing the allegations after days of reports on the alleged scandal.
Dame Elan Closs Stephens, acting chairwoman of the BBC, told colleagues at the told the House Of Lords communications and digital committee today that they had a “duty“ to be “calm and rational“ as she explained why the BBC did not name the star.
She said it wasn't as straight forward as just making public the name of the star involved and explained why to her peers.
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Dame Elan said: “We had a duty to act with some calm and rationality in the face of lack of rationality and lack of calm.
“There were an awful lot of questions that could not be answered.
“There was a huge pressure to disclose the name of somebody to whom we had a duty of care, and duty of privacy, in addition to the family and young [person] that were concerned in this maelstrom.
“So I was on the one hand seeking to establish the right of the board to oversee what was happening, but at the same time, I was trying my best to make for a calm and rational discussion of the issue before we all got carried away in what could have been very wrong directions.”
The Sun newspaper published a front page story saying a high-profile presenter, now named as the newsreader, paid a young person for explicit images.
Dame Elan Closs Stephens told peers that there was 'huge pressure' on the corporation’s boardElsewhere during the committee held in Parliament, BBC director-general Tim Davie has revealed he is touch with the complainant at the heart of the scandal.
He said: “Since that weekend we have been in touch with the complainant and we want to be engaged and appropriately listening and understanding their concerns.”
He also said the investigation into the allegations into Huw Edwards could take “weeks or a couple of months or even longer”.
Mr Davie said: “This has been a difficult affair where we have tried to calmly and reasonably navigate some difficult concerns around the allegations themselves, duty of care, privacy and legitimate public interest.”
Updating the committee on the review he has ordered into the internal protocols and procedures on complaints at the BBC in the wake of the furore, the director general said he expects to report in the autumn or late autumn.
After a number of BBC presenters were falsely accused of being involved in the allegations, Vicky Flind released the following statement about her husband: “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.
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“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.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.“
Ms Flind's statement came as the Met Police confirmed it was taking no action. The BBC has now resumed its investigation into the Ten O’Clock News anchor, who remains suspended.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.
“In reaching this decision, they have spoken to a number of parties including the BBC and the alleged complainant and the alleged complainant’s family, both via another police force. There is no further police action. As such, the Met has advised the BBC it can continue with its internal investigation.
“We are aware of media reporting of further allegations against the same individual. No specific details or information about these allegations have been passed to us and therefore there is no police action at this time.
"Should evidence of criminality or safeguarding issues be identified at any point we would expect matters to be referred to the relevant police force.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.
“The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”
Earlier in the week, the young person at the heart of the claims said the reports were 'rubbish'. In a letter to the BBC, the lawyer wrote: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are 'rubbish.'“
The letter from the lawyer also said that the young person sent a denial to the newspaper on Friday evening via WhatsApp, in which they said the allegation was “totally wrong and there was no truth to it“.
A spokesperson for The Sun said: “We have reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child. Their complaint was not acted upon by the BBC. We have seen evidence that supports their concerns. It’s now for the BBC to properly investigate.“
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