On 27th February (local time), it was reported that BBC apologised to the parents of a young person who complained the now-suspended BBC presenter Huw Edwards in the matter related to cash for explicit photos. In the apology, BBC admitted they should have acted more swiftly on the mother’s complaint of the young person.
Reports suggest that BBC launched a review into the complaints procedure following the scandal that came to light in July 2023. BBC group chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva apologised and said in a statement that the organisation found specific process shortcomings in the complaint made about Edwards. She said, “The initial complaint in this case was not escalated quickly enough to senior management, and we have apologised to the complainant for this.”
BBC apologised after an independent report found process shortcomings
The organisation further added that it would improve its procedures for dealing with non-editorial complaints after a review found that there was a need for greater consistency across the organisation while dealing with the most serious complaints. Deloitte partner Simon Cuerden reviewed the organisation’s procedures.
As per the report, the complaint was made on 18th May, but the matter was not escalated despite the investigations team seeking to contact the complainant. The case was not even logged into the BBC system at the time, meaning there was “no opportunity for wider visibility of the case within the BBC”. The report pointed out that the course of action was unclear due to a lack of documentation of the contact and follow-ups.
Edwards never made a public statement himself about the allegations, but his wife did and said he was suffering from “serious mental health issues”.
Huw Edwards allegedly paid a teenager thousands of pounds for explicit images
On 8th July 2023, The Sun published the shocking story of an unnamed BBC presenter who allegedly paid a teen 35,000 Pounds over a period of three years for sexually explicit images. The publication cited the victim’s mother’s version while publishing the story against the BBC presenter. Later, he was identified as Huw Edwards after his wife issued a statement.
On 10th July, it was reported that the TV representative, who was identified as a male staffer of BBC, called the young person and asked, “What have you done?” in panic. The BBC presenter called the young man twice after the allegations were published in the publication. The report adds that the BBC ‘star’ asked the victim to drop their complaint or stop the ongoing investigation.
BBC confirmed the reports that it had known about the complaint way back in May 2023. However, the state-run British Broadcaster claimed that the new allegations were of a “different nature”. It added that it had suspended the male staffer accused of these wrongdoings.
While the young person who received money for sexually explicit images denied the claims made by the mother and the stepfather, the parents rubbished them. They said they wanted the BBC presenter to stop sending him money. The young person’s mother accused the BBC presenter of pushing the young person, who was only 17 when it started, towards drugs.
On 12th July, Vicky Flind, the wife of Huw Edwards, named him as the BBC presenter accused of paying a vulnerable young person in exchange for sexually explicit images. Edwards, who was one of the network’s highest-earning anchors, was suspended by BBC pending an investigation.
In a statement, Flind said Edwards was getting treatment at the hospital for his “serious mental health issues”. The statement was given on his behalf “primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children”.
Flind said that her husband was suffering from serious mental health issues and pointed out that it was well-documented he had severe depression. There were no details on the allegations against Edwards in the statement. She “hoped” that the statement would end the speculations being raised in the media about other BBC presenters.