BBC was under 'huge pressure' to name Huw Edwards as presenter after Sun story, peers told

The BBC was under "huge pressure" to name Huw Edwards as the high-profile presenter in the Sun story, the corporation's chairwoman has said.

Dame Elan Closs Stephens told the Communications and Digital Committee today (18 July): “We had a duty to act with some calm and rationality in the face of lack of rationality and lack of calm.

“There were an awful lot of questions that could not be answered. There was a huge pressure to disclose the name of somebody to whom we had a duty of care, and duty of privacy, in addition to the family and young man that were concerned in this maelstrom."

On 7 July, the Sun ran a story which accused a high-profile BBC presenter of paying £35,000 over three years to a teenager in exchange for explicit photos. The teen's mum said they had used the money of to purchase crack cocaine, and accused the presenter of "destroying" their child's life.

TV and radio stars came out and declared they were not the presenter, and the BBC was urged by some people to name the person. Around five days later, Edwards' wife, Vicky Flind, said the Welsh TV presenter was the person referred to in the Sun's story.

Flind said in her statement that Edwards is "suffering from serious mental health issues", referencing the fact that her husband has been treated for severe depression in recent years, and he was currently in hospital. This came after the Metropolitan Police said that no criminal offence had been committed by Edwards, following an investigation into the claims.

Other allegations about Edwards emerged. He was accused of sending threatening messages to another younger person, as well as allegedly breaking Covid lockdown rules to meet up with another young person.

The BBC is now conducting its own investigation into the incident, which Director-General Tim Davie said could take "weeks or months or even longer". Speaking at the Communications and Digital Committee, he said: "This has been a difficult affair where we have tried to calmly and reasonably navigate some difficult concerns around the allegations themselves, duty of care, privacy and legitimate public interest.” 

Davie confirmed the BBC had spoken to the complainant as part of the investigation. “We are in the process of looking at those facts, we are keen to receive any information, we want to understand anything that is out there," he said.

“It’s difficult to give a precise time on that because you have to go though that diligently, assess the information, there are duty of care concerns within that. Because I’m not in control of all the variables that could take weeks or a couple of months or even longer, depending on what we get and managing the individuals involved flawlessly.

“My main priority is to be fair and get all the information into that process and act judiciously. That process is underway, well managed with world-class experts we have within the BBC.” 

Davie explained there was a separate review of procedures and protocols following the case, which would report in the late autumn. He said: "We should all be concerned, and appropriately diligent, of abuse by people in powerful positions. Certainly you have a dynamic when you’ve got presenters or people in power, you need to ensure that you’re very, very clear with what your expectations are culturally as well as the policy.

“I think we’ve done really good work at the BBC, and I’m proud, actually, of the work we’ve done over the last few years – having a really clear code of conduct, our values… I mean, we’ve done a very big push on what our values are as an organisation. We’ve got, I think, a good process; we could do more with it.”

Who is Huw Edwards?

Huw Edwards, 61, is a Welsh journalist who began working with the BBC in the 1980s. He presented the BBC Six O'Clock News from 1994-2003, before joining the Ten O'Clock News.

He has covered some of the biggest news events in the UK over the years, including the 2019 general election, the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year, several royal weddings, and the coronation of King Charles III.  In last year’s BBC annual report, he was listed as the sixth highest paid presenter, having earned between £410,000-£414,999.

Edwards is believed to have last appeared on the BBC on Wednesday 5 July, when he fronted coverage for King Charles’ coronation in Scotland. It was on the following day that the BBC said they had received "allegations of a different nature" to those that they had already been made aware of.

On 7 July, The Sun published claims that an unnamed BBC presenter had paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos, and on 9 July the BBC confirmed that the presenter had been suspended.

What do the allegations against Huw Edwards mean?

The exact nature of the allegations made against Edwards are not confirmed. He has been accused of paying for explicit photos of a teenager.

If the alleged images were of a sexual nature and taken when the teenager was younger than 18, then these allegations could have legal ramifications. If the alleged images were taken after the teenager turned 18 or were not sexual in nature, then possession of the images would not constitute a crime. The Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police have confirmed that there was no evident illegality or criminal behaviour in the evidence presented to them.

Additionally, Huw is married and has five children with his wife, Vicky Flind. It’s not clear when the pair got married but they are believed to have been together for several years. If the alleged exchange of money for explicit images did take place, then it could have ramifications for Edwards’ personal life regardless of any legal consequences.

Why did it take so long for Huw Edwards to be named?

There are several factors that influenced the BBC’s decision in not to name the presenter at the centre of the scandal - the company felt that they had a duty of care to protect Edwards in the event that the allegations were unfounded. Edwards has also been open about his history of depression in the past and this may have been another factor in the BBC’s decision. 

Additionally, the BBC may have been wary of defaming Edwards, as if the company could not prove the allegations they could risk a costly court case. As the company stayed silent, other stars found themselves misidentified as the suspended presenter - BBC Radio Five Live host Nicky Campbell announced that he was in contact with police for this very reason. Other stars that distanced themselves from the allegations before the BBC named Edwards included Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark, and Dan Walker.

The Sun newspaper also held back from naming the star, despite running several stories making allegations against the then-unnamed presenter.