LAST UPDATE | 31 Jul

FORMER BBC PRESENTER Huw Edwards has admitted accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven after a man he met online sent him hundreds of sexual images on WhatsApp.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told seven of the 41 indecent images sent to the veteran broadcaster by the unnamed male were of the most serious type.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with the man telling the newsreader the child was “quite young looking” and that he had more images which were illegal.

Edwards told him not to send any illegal images, the court was told in a 26-minute hearing.

He appeared nervous, fidgeting with his hands as Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told him he would not be sentencing him today. 

The court heard that Edwards had been involved in online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The bulk of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period.

On 2 February 2021, the male asked whether what he was sending was too young, to which Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court heard.

The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C.

Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

No more indecent images more were sent after August 2021, but the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

During the period he was being sent the photographs, Edwards fronted coverage of the funeral of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking in Edwards’ defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC said: “There’s no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has… in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.

“It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards’ devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there’s nothing in those devices.

It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.

“Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.”

Evans said the defendant had “both mental and physical” health issues.

He told the court: “It is obvious to the court, I’m sure, that Mr Edwards was not just of good character, but of exceptional character.”

The broadcaster was emotionless as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

After admitting the charges, he sat staring into the distance, with his head tilted slightly upwards.

He adjusted his tie as Ian Hope, prosecuting, laid out the case against him.

Hope told the court that a suspended sentence might be considered for Edwards.

Potential penalties

Setting out the potential penalties under the law, he said that where there is the prospect of rehabilitation a community order and sexual offender treatment programme could be considered as alternatives to a custodial sentence.

Sentencing guidelines set the starting point for any jail term for possession of a Category A image at 12 months, with a range of 26 weeks to three years.

The starting point is 26 weeks for a category B image, and a community order for category C, he said.

Aggravating features to be taken into account for Edwards include that the images included moving images, and the young age of the child thought to be seven to nine years old in two of the category A images.

Mitigating factors are Edwards’ early guilty plea, his previous good character, his mental health issues and what Hope said is “genuine remorse”.

He faced a barrage of cameras and photographers as he left court, but made no comment as he departed in a black Mercedes with tinted windows.

Exploitation

Claire Brinton, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Accessing indecent images of underage people perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children, which has deep, long-lasting trauma on these victims.

“The CPS and the Metropolitan Police were able to prove that Edwards was receiving illegal material involving children via WhatsApp.

“This prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside with the police, will work to bring to justice those who seek to exploit children, wherever that abuse takes place.”

Edwards resigned from the BBC earlier this year “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” following unrelated allegations that he paid an individual for sexually explicit photos.

He was suspended by the corporation after the allegations came to light, but the Metropolitan Police later said that no criminal offence had taken place.

The family of the unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and he was publicly named by his wife as the TV presenter at the centre of the allegations in following July.

During his career, he fronted BBC’s News At Ten for 20 years and anchored coverage of major national events including announcing Queen Elizabeth II’s death on the BBC and presenting coverage of her funeral.

He was previously the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £475,000-£479,999 for the year 2023/24 for 160 presenting days, BBC One news specials, election specials and other television programming, according to the corporation’s latest annual report.

Edwards will appear at the same court again on 16 September.