(London) The BBC resumed its internal investigation on Thursday into Huw Edwards, its star presenter at the center of a scandal over sex photos, also now targeted by accusations from employees of the British public broadcasting group.
The affair has been in the press for six days, but the name of the journalist, suspended on Sunday, was only revealed on Wednesday evening by his wife. The portrait of Huw Edwards is on the front page of all British newspapers on Thursday.
This pillar of the BBC, who for 20 years presented the 10 p.m. newspaper, the group’s flagship program, was hospitalized, suffering from depression. “Once he is in a position to do so, he intends to respond to articles that have been published,” his wife Vicky Flind said in a statement.
At the same time, police said they had found no evidence that a criminal offense had been committed.
The BBC, however, announced that it would resume its internal investigation, promising to “carry out a thorough assessment of the facts”.
“The group’s immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved,” chief executive Tim Davie said in a letter to BBC staff.
Like two other senior officials of the public group, he must be questioned next Tuesday before a parliamentary committee on the conduct of this affair.
Charges against Huw Edwards, a 61-year-old father, have been trickling since Friday night.
Tabloid The Sun, one of the BBC’s most vocal critics, then quoted an unidentified woman as saying her child, initially aged 17, had received 35,000 pounds ($60,000) from the presenter over three years, “in exchange for sordid pictures”, which had fueled his crack addiction.
The now 20-year-old responded Monday night by calling her mother’s accusations “bullshit.”
The tabloid said on Tuesday that the presenter had visited in February 2021 during the anti-COVID-19 confinement at the home of a 23-year-old person met on an application. The young person described him as “very arrogant” and “very pushy” and added that the presenter paid him 650 pounds (about $1120) after they met.
BBC News also revealed that the presenter sent threats from his mobile phone to another young person he met on an app, after the youngster suggested he was going to reveal his identity. The Sun claimed he contacted another 17-year-old, whom he did not know, on Instagram in 2018.
On Wednesday evening, the BBC reported allegations from two employees of the group and a former employee, who said they had received “inappropriate” and “suggestive messages” from Huw Edwards, “some late at night and over with kisses”.
“Young employees are reluctant to complain to their superiors about the conduct of famous colleagues”, fearing “negative consequences on their career”, they explained, according to the BBC.
For its part, the Sun, which belongs to the group of billionaire Rupert Murdoch, has been strongly criticized for its coverage of the affair. He said he would not issue any further charges.
Huw Edwards, who had previously suffered from depression and talked about it in interviews, will be staying in hospital “for the foreseeable future,” said his wife, with whom he has five children.
Several British personalities and BBC journalists called on Thursday to give peace to Huw Edwards.
“I’m so sorry to everyone involved in this case: to the Edwards family, to the plaintiffs and to Huw himself,” BBC International Editor John Simpson wrote on Twitter.
“No criminal offense has been committed, so this is a purely personal tragedy for all involved. Hopefully the press will leave them alone now. »
As for the British public, according to a YouGov study, 60% of respondents believe that the media has done too much on this case.