Former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards resigned from the UK’s public broadcaster on medical advice after being off air since last year amid allegations that he paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos.
In a statement on Monday, the BBC announced that “based on medical advice from his doctors,” former BBC News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards has stepped down from the network.
“The BBC has accepted his resignation, which it believes will enable all parties to move forward. Further comments are deemed inappropriate at this time,” the broadcaster stated.
Edwards, 62, has been off the air since last July after The Sun newspaper reported that an unnamed “BBC star” — later identified as Edwards — had paid a 17-year-old with a drug addiction approximately £35,000 in exchange for sexually explicit photos.
The newspaper later adjusted its claims to note that contact between the two began when the teenager was 17, suggesting the requests for explicit images might have happened after the individual turned 18.
Despite the UK’s legal age of consent being 16, it is illegal to solicit sexually explicit images from anyone under 18. London’s Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police investigated the claims last year but did not find evidence of a crime.
Top News Host Huw Edwards Named by Wife as BBC Presenter Accused of Paying Teen for Sex Picshttps://t.co/M5us3kTRp0
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 12, 2023
The BBC faced accusations of attempting to cover up the situation, as the broadcaster reportedly only contacted police after the allegations became public.
Although The Sun did not specify the gender of the alleged victim, BBC interim chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens informed a parliamentary committee last year that the individual was a “young man,” according to The Guardian.
Prior to his resignation, Edwards was the BBC’s fourth-highest-paid presenter, earning approximately £430,000 annually. He was a prominent figure in the network, often covering major events, including the official announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Following the revelation that Edwards was the presenter in question, his wife, Vicky Flind, disclosed that Edwards was hospitalized due to “serious mental health issues” and had been treated for severe depression in recent years.
The mother of the alleged victim said last year that the large sums of money received in exchange for sexual images had led to her child becoming a “ghost-like crack addict” from a previously “happy-go-lucky youngster.”
“When I see him on TV, I feel sick. I hold this BBC man responsible for ruining my child’s life, robbing them of their innocence, and funding the crack cocaine that could end their life,” she said.
BBC Belatedly Calls in Police Over Allegations of Star Presenter Buying Teen Sex Picshttps://t.co/dKZiHeRAQV
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 10, 2023
