Huw Edwards: Former BBC presenter receives suspended sentence for indecent images of children

London
CNN
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Former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, by a London court for possessing indecent images of children, PA Media reports.

The suspended sentence includes, among other things, participation in a treatment program for sex offenders and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

Edwards, the BBC's highest-paid journalist, pleaded guilty in July to possessing 41 indecent images of children.

In sentencing Edwards, Chief Justice Paul Goldspring said it was “obvious” that the journalist “enjoyed a very high public reputation” until information about his crimes became public.

“It is no exaggeration when I say that your long-earned reputation is in tatters,” the judge said.

The court had previously heard that Edwards had chatted via WhatsApp with an adult man who had sent him 377 sexual images, including 41 indecent images of children.

The adult man who sent Edwards the images is a convicted paedophile, the court heard on Monday. Edwards sent him hundreds of pounds “apparently for sending pornographic images,” said prosecutor Ian Hope.

Defence lawyer Philip Evans KC said the journalist “had not made any payments to have images sent to him and he certainly had not made any payments to have offensive images sent to him.”

Seven of the images submitted to Edwards were the most serious forms of indecent depictions of children under English law. Most of the children depicted were estimated to be between 13 and 15 years old. One child was between seven and nine years old.

The alleged offences were committed between December 2020 and August 2021, according to the Public Prosecution Service of England and Wales.

The court had previously heard that Edwards had asked a man on WhatsApp not to send him images of minors after the man asked if the images he was sending were too young. After that message, no more illegal images were sent, the court heard, but the pair are said to have continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

Defense attorney Evans said Monday that Edwards had taken “no satisfaction” from the offensive images, adding that the journalist was “sincerely sorry for having committed these offenses.”

“He recognises the disgusting nature of such indecent images and the pain caused to those who appear in such images,” Evans added. “He sincerely apologises for his part in this.”

Edwards hosted both News at Six and the BBC's flagship News at Ten – the equivalent of presenting an evening news programme in the US. He announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 and was regularly the face of BBC news specials.

The presenter was suspended from the BBC in July 2023 and arrested four months later, but did not resign from his post until the end of April this year.

During that time, he remained on the BBC payroll, receiving £200,000 (nearly $264,000) in the months between his arrest and his resignation. The BBC, which is funded mostly by British households through a license fee, ordered Edwards to return that portion of his salary.

British Culture Minister Lisa Nandy also demanded that the money be repaid.

The station's board of directors said in August that Edwards had pleaded guilty to a “horrific crime.”

“He has clearly undermined trust in the BBC and damaged our reputation,” the panel said in a statement.

CNN's Jessie Gretener contributed to this report.