Huw Edwards ‘not impressed’ with BBC coverage after ‘feeding frenzy’ over sex scandal

Mental health charity Mind called for Huw Edwards to be given the “space to receive treatment” while he experiences “serious mental health problems”.

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, 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.

“Given these very challenging circumstances, he has asked that he and his 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.”

Suspended BBC star Huw Edwards is facing fresh claims he sent BBC colleagues “inappropriate messages” as the broadcaster resumed its investigation into the presenter at the centre of the sex photo scandal.

The new claims – which followed the naming of the presenter by his wife on Wednesday night – come from two current and a former BBC worker, who said they had received “inappropriate” messages from Mr Edwards on social media, according to BBC Newsnight.

The former employee said they had never met the presenter but received messages from him on social media, “some late at night and signed off with kisses”, which they said they believed was an “abuse of power”.

BBC News journalists had been looking into allegations against Huw Edwards just days before The Sun published its story claiming the presenter had paid a young person tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit pictures, according to reports.

BBC sources said Newsnight anchor Victoria Derbyshire was among those examining the accusations, Deadline has reported.

Huw Edwards was “very angry” and “felt very let down” by the coverage of the allegations made about him, his former colleague Jon Sopel has said.

Sopel, who worked with Edwards for decades before leaving the corporation last year, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he had been in touch with Edwards before he went to hospital.

He said: “We’ve had contact, obviously not since he’s been hospitalised. He was very angry, I think felt very let down by what happened in the Sun, furious with their coverage, not overly impressed with the BBC’s coverage either.

“I’m sure anyone who knows him is just wishing him well.

“Huw I have known for over three decades, when we were young political correspondents competing against each other to get up the ladder at the BBC. He is incredibly funny, has got an acid wit. He can be a complicated person to deal with.

“If you’re entering Huw’s orbit, he’s very defensive of his own territory, so I wouldn’t say we’re close friends, but I thought that some of the coverage about what has happened about someone’s private life, which is complicated, and possibly a bit messy, and that some might find distasteful, I don’t see what it’s got to do with anyone else.

“If there’s no question of illegality, there’s no question of sexual assault and things might change, but, as things stand now, there’s been no illegality, there’s been no abuse of power, as far as I can see. Therefore, what is it to do with anybody?”

Sopel said coverage of the allegations “got ugly”, adding: “I think it became a feeding frenzy. I think it was a competition to see who could go further the fastest.”

Asked what he thinks the situation means for Edwards professionally, Sopel said: “I think if, at the end of this, what you are left with is someone who had some personal struggles about who he was, what he was, how he lived his life, and he made some ill-considered judgments along the way, I think it would be such a shame, if such a talented and gifted broadcaster – and the way he navigates state occasions and the big events and reads the news with such authority – if that is lost. I think that will be a great loss.

“So I hope he gets better. And I hope that some way, somehow, he’s back – providing nothing else comes out that we don’t know about – but if things are as they are, I hope he makes a return.”

Sophie Raworth mistakenly said that Huw Edwards had resigned from his position after announcing that her colleague had been named as the BBC presenter at the heart of a sex scandal.

The veteran broadcaster was named by his wife, Vicky Flind, as the presenter who has faced allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

Ms Flind added that her husband is receiving in-patient hospital care and “suffering from serious mental health issues.”

Ms Raworth subsequently corrected her report, confirming that Mr Edwards had not stepped down.

Dan Walker, David Baddiel and Elizabeth Day are among those who have shared their thoughts on the discussion surrounding Huw Edwards, after the BBC presenter was named as the person facing allegations over payments to a teenager for sexually explicit images.

After days of speculation over the presenter’s identity, on Wednesday (12 July), Edwards’ wife, Vicky Flind, said the newsreader is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving inpatient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future”.

Her statement came as the Metropolitan Police announced that no criminal offence had been committed, and the BBC will now resume its own “fact-finding” investigation into claims made in The Sun last week that Edwards, 61, had paid a young person around £35,000 over three years, from the age of 17, for photos.

The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie has said this will “no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days” and added: “I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.”

In a note sent to staff, Mr Davie said: “I wanted to write following this evening’s statements from the family of Huw Edwards and the police.

“Many of you will have read the words of Vicky Flind, Huw’s wife. It is a reminder that the last few days have seen personal lives played out in public. At the heart of this are people and their families.

“This will no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days. I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.

“Also this afternoon, the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police confirmed they would be taking no further action following an assessment of information provided to them.

“As you know, we were asked to pause our fact finding investigations until that assessment had been concluded. It is important we now continue with this work. I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.

“This remains a very complex set of circumstances. As we have done throughout, our aim must be to navigate through this with care and consideration, in line with the BBC values.”

BBC chief Tim Davie will be questioned in Parliament about the corporation’s leadership following the Huw Edwards scandal.

The BBC director general, acting chairwowman Dame Elan Closs Stephens and policy director Clare Sumner have been called to appear before the Lords Communications Committee on Tuesday.

The peers will raise a range of issues, including “in light of recent events, what concerns have been raised about the adequacy of the BBC’s governance arrangements and how it is addressing these”.

Following the naming of Huw Edwards in relation to a BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images, here is the statement in full from The Sun newspaper:

“The allegations published by The Sun were always very serious. Further serious allegations have emerged in the past few days.

“It is right that the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team continues to investigate these thoroughly and deals with them in the way that they think is appropriate.

“The Sun will cooperate with the BBC’s internal investigation process.

“We will provide the BBC team with a confidential and redacted dossier containing serious and wide-ranging allegations which we have received, including some from BBC personnel.

“The Sun has no plans to publish further allegations.

“We must also re-emphasise that The Sun at no point in our original story alleged criminality and also took the decision neither to name Mr Edwards nor the young person involved in the allegations.

“Suggestions about possible criminality were first made at a later date by other media outlets, including the BBC.

“From the outset, we have reported a story about two very concerned and frustrated parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and payments from him that fuelled the drug habit of a young person.

“We reported that the parents had already been to the police who said that they couldn’t help.

“The parents then made a complaint to the BBC which was not acted upon.

“It is now for the BBC to properly investigate.”