The mystery British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) presenter accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit pictures has finally been revealed to be veteran Huw Edwards.
Variety reported:
“Edwards is one of the most senior on-air figures at the corporation and was the anchor chosen to break news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death to the world last September. He is the fourth highest paid figure at the BBC.”
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Huw Edwards' identity had not yet been reported by the media because of UK’s defamation and privacy case law, but reportedly his identity had been an open secret at the BBC all along.
But, now, the legendary BBC veteran was named by his own wife, Vicky Flind, in a statement issued on his behalf.
Here is Vicky Flind's statement on behalf of her husband, disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards:
"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… pic.twitter.com/JPM8sEnMoN
— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) July 12, 2023
Sky News reported:
"She said her husband 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.
Ms Flind further said that once her husband was 'well enough to do so' he intends to respond to the allegations, which she says he was first told about last Thursday.
The revelation the presenter at the centre of the allegations was Edwards came shortly after the Metropolitan Police revealed there was 'no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed'.
BBC proceeded to state that it is restarting their own probe : "We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed. 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."
During the day, there was some confusion as the BBC stated that he had resigned, but shortly afterwards the broadcaster clarified that he had not quit.
Once again, Variety:
"In a surprising twist, two days after the story broke a lawyer for the teenager released a statement disputing the mother’s account and saying 'nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish', according to The Times of London."
The BBC has suspended the anchor while they investigate the matter. Under the U.K.’s 'Protection of Children Act' it is a crime 'to take, make, share and possess indecent images of people under 18'. The maximum sentence for the offense is 10 years.