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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) is considering stripping disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards of his awards after he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of making indecent photographs of children.
Edwards, 62, who was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, admitted before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court to having 41 indecent images of children on his phone. He was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams. Seven of these photos belonged to category A, the most serious kind, with two photos showing a child aged between about seven and nine.
Edwards’ sentencing is due on 16 September. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
Bafta said it was reviewing the awards given to Edwards over the years “given the seriousness of this abhorrent crime”.
“Like everyone in the industry and country we were shocked by the news this week,” a Bafta spokesperson said.
Edwards has received a host of Bafta awards over the course of almost three decades presenting the BBC’s flagship evening news programming, including seven awards recognising his presenting skills from its Welsh branch, Bafta Cymru. One of these was for presenting a 2017 documentary on the 1966 Aberfan disaster and another for The Story of Wales in 2013.
Edwards was also part of the BBC teams that won Bafta awards for coverage of Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton in 2011, the Madrid bombings in 2004, and the London bombings in 2005.
BBC director general Tim Davie is facing pressure to explain why Edwards continued receiving his salary of over £475,000 until he resigned in April, despite being arrested in November.
“I think having been arrested on such serious charges all the way back in November, to continue to receive that salary all the way through until he resigned is wrong and it’s not a good use of taxpayers’ money,” culture secretary Lisa Nandy said.
In an interview with BBC News last Thursday, Mr Davie said on recovering Edwards’ pay: “When it comes to pay, again, it’s legally challenging, but we’ll look at all options.”
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Asked whether Edwards will still receive his pension, Mr Davie said it is “very difficult to claw back, nigh on impossible”.
“These are unfortunately the specifics of how it works.”
The BBC has removed a Doctor Who episode featuring the presenter from the streaming platform iPlayer. Edwards featured as himself in a 2006 episode.
The corporation is facing a dilemma about what it should do with all archival footage featuring the presenter, considering he was present during multiple seminal moments in recent British history.
“News is a matter of public record,” one BBC executive told The Times of the predicament this week. “What a nightmare.”
A plaque honouring Edwards has been removed from the walls of Cardiff Castle and several charities, including The National Churches Trust and The Journalists’ Charity, have severed their ties with him.
