A mental health charity has said that people experiencing “serious mental health problems” such as Huw Edwards should be given the “space to receive treatment”.
The wife of Edwards, Vicky Flind, named the father-of-five as the BBC presenter facing allegations saying he was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now receiving treatment.
The director of Mind Cymru, Susan O’Leary, said Edwards, patron of a branch of Mind in Llanelli, has supported the charity but has not “done any in-person work”.
In a statement on Thursday, she said: “As is well documented, Huw has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“He has been very eloquent in talking about his mental health issues.”
Ms O’Leary added: “Given these very challenging circumstances, (Ms Flind) has asked that (their) family’s privacy be respected.
“We would like to stress that it is important that anybody experiencing serious mental health problems is given the appropriate space to receive the treatment they need.
“We acknowledge that the ongoing news coverage could impact people in many different ways. Mind is here to support anyone who needs help with their mental health.”
She also said that each local Mind is a “separate charity” and Llanelli Mind has its “own governance and codes of practice” as one of more than 100 branches across England and Wales.
Edwards, who has previously spoken about his mental health, said bouts of depression have left him “bedridden” since 2002 during a documentary two years ago.
Ms Flind said on Wednesday her husband’s severe depression has been “greatly worsened” over the last week since The Sun’s allegations and he is “now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future”.
Rethink Mental Illness also wrote on Twitter that “everyone connected” to the story should be supported and have their mental health “prioritised”.
The mental health charity also wrote that among the “speculation” about the BBC controversy “people are suffering”.
They added: “For that we should strive for compassion and understanding of the impact of severe depression and mental illness.”
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said no criminal offence has been committed by the presenter, and that no specific details or information about further allegations reported in the media have been provided to them.
The BBC is continuing its own “fact-finding investigations” following Edwards allegedly making payments for sexually explicit images.
