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Disgraced former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has avoided jail but has been left with a reputation in tatters after accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.
The veteran broadcaster, 63, was handed a six-month suspended sentence after previously admitting three charges of “making” indecent photographs, sealing an extraordinary fall from grace following a four-decade career at the corporation.
It emerged on Monday that the 63-year-old paid up to £1,500 to Alex Williams, 25, who sent Edwards 41 illegal images, seven of which were of category A, the very worst kind.
Of those images shared over WhatsApp, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, while one was aged as young as between seven and nine.
Among the vile messages the pair exchanged was one in which Edwards told Williams to “go on” when asked if he wanted “naughty pics and vids” of somebody described as young. In another, the former BBC News at Ten anchor wrote “yes xxx” when asked whether he wanted sexual images of a person whose “age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16”.
Passing sentence, the chief magistrate, District Judge Paul Goldspring, told the previously beloved household name that his “long-earned reputation is in tatters” after committing the “extremely serious” offences, stressing that the financial and reputational damage he suffered was “the natural consequence of your behaviour which you brought upon yourself”.
The BBC marked the end of Edwards’s astonishing downfall by condemning the former broadcaster, who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II and led the coverage of her funeral, accusing him of having “betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him” – adding that the corporation was “appalled by his crimes”.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled” by the case.
Leaning forward with his hands clasped under his chin as he listened from the dock, Edwards, of Wandsworth, southwest London, was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, following his guilty pleas in July.
Among the 377 sexual images discovered by police – sent to Edwards by Williams between December 2020 and August 2021 – were the seven category A images, which are of the most serious type, 12 category B images, and 22 category C images.
The judge did say he believed the former broadcaster’s remorse was genuine and that his mental health at the time of the offences could have impaired his decision making.
The chief magistrate said: “I am of the clear view that you do not present a risk or danger to the public at large, specifically to children. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
The former broadcaster was spotted pulling a suitcase behind him as he arrived at court earlier on Monday, wearing a blue cardigan and looking sternly at photographers as he entered the building.
Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court the former broadcaster sent a total of around £1,000 to £1,500 to Williams “apparently off the back of [him] sending pornographic images to Mr Edwards”. He added that Williams asked Edwards for a “Christmas gift after all the hot videos”, with Edwards offering to send him £200 for some Nike Air Force 1 trainers.
The ex-BBC presenter’s defence barrister, Philip Evans KC, insisted that Edwards did not make payments to Williams in order to receive indecent images of children.
He said: “Mr Edwards positively told Mr Williams not to send images of people who were underage.”
The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy aged around seven to nine, after the newsreader told the convicted paedophile “go on” when he was asked if he wanted “naughty pics and vids” of somebody described as “yng [sic]”. The former BBC presenter asks if he has “any more”.
Mr Evans told the court Edwards “recognises that he has betrayed the priceless trust and faith of so many people”, adding that he is “truly sorry” for how he had “damaged his family and his loved ones” and for committing the offences.
A psychiatrist’s report, referenced by the judge in his sentencing remarks, concluded Edwards was at “considerable risk of harm from others” and the risk of taking his own life was “high and significant” if he was imprisoned, with the hearing told of concern over the defendant’s mental health.
A separate report conducted by a psychosexual therapist said: “The feelings of being desirable and unseen alongside Mr Edwards’s unresolved sexual orientation created a perfect storm where he engaged in sexual infidelities and became vulnerable to people blackmailing him.”
Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police, receiving a 12-month suspended sentence.
The BBC has admitted it was informed that the former TV presenter was arrested in November but continued to employ him for around five months until he left on medical advice.
The corporation has asked Edwards to repay the £200,000 salary he has received since his arrest, although no deadline has been set. BBC director-general Tim Davie warned the corporation will “explore” the legal process if Edwards refuses.
The judge on Monday told Edwards he would be subject to 25 rehabilitation sessions and be placed on the sex offender treatment programme for 40 days.
The defendant was ordered to pay £3,000 in prosecution costs and was told he would be put on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.
Claire Brinton, of the CPS, said: “This prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside the police, will work to bring to justice those who seek to exploit children, wherever that abuse takes place.”
Rani Govender, child safety online policy manager at the NSPCC, said: “Online child sexual abuse is at record levels and offenders like Edwards who fuel this crime should be in no doubt about its severity and the impact it has on victims.”
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331
