VICKY Flind, the wife of news reader Huw Edwards, has named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images in a statement issued on his behalf.
It comes as the Metropolitan Police say there is no evidence the presenter commited a criminal offence.
In her statement, Flind said her husband Huw Edwards was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.
She said: "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.
"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."
The Welsh journalist and broadcaster has previously spoken about his mental health, telling BBC Radio Cymru in 2019 that he was “mentally in the wrong place” when he was physically “unhealthy”.
He also revealed in a documentary in 2021 he had bouts of depression which have left him “bedridden” since 2002.
Edwards is the BBC’s highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000 – £439,999, up from £410,000 – £414,000 last year, putting him fourth on the top 10 list, the corporation’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.
The statement from his wife comes as the Metropolitan Police said no criminal offence had been committed by the presenter.
The force 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.”
The statement added: “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.”
The BBC said in a statement the corporation was “grateful” to the Met Police for “completing this work at speed”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
Last week, The Sun newspaper first reported allegations against an unnamed presenter, saying the presenter had paid a young person tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images.
The Sun has no plans to publish further allegations about Huw Edwards and will co-operate with the BBC’s internal investigation process, a spokesperson for the newspaper said.
