Huw Edwards has been named as the BBC presenter suspended over allegations he paid for explicit images, after a media scandal that has rocked the national broadcaster and left him in hospital.
The episode has left one of British television’s most famous faces “suffering from serious mental health issues” and “receiving inpatient hospital care, where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future”, his wife said in a statement on Wednesday.
Vicky Flind confirmed her husband was the man in question after rumours swirled on social media for five days. Her comments came shortly after two police forces said there was no evidence Edwards committed a criminal offence.
Flind said the allegations “greatly worsened matters” for Edwards, who has had severe depression in recent years. She added that he will respond to the allegations when well enough, adding he is “deeply sorry” that colleagues had been dragged into the story.
The Sun alleged in a front-page story that the presenter paid a young person, now aged 20, for photos. The tabloid suggested this started when the individual was 17 – a potentially serious criminal offence.
Officers at Scotland Yard have now concluded there is no evidence to support this allegation, leaving the Sun facing questions about its reporting. South Wales police also believes there is no criminal case to answer.
The young person’s lawyer allegedly told the Sun last week that the story was “rubbish” and no illegal activity took place, although the tabloid did not publish this denial until Monday night.
On Wednesday night, the Sun denied its article ever alleged criminality had taken place, saying: “Suggestions about possible criminality were first made at a later date by other media outlets, including the BBC.”
It added that it would “cooperate with the BBC’s internal investigation process” into the issue and provide “a confidential and redacted dossier containing serious and wide-ranging allegations … including some from BBC personnel”.
In a sign of the chaos engulfing the corporation, the BBC’s Six O’Clock News wrongly reported that Edwards had resigned before issuing a correction.
The station later reported new claims that the presenter sent messages to three BBC colleagues, which left them feeling uncomfortable, with one of the individuals alleging that “inappropriate and suggestive messages were sent”.
There was initial speculation that further allegations against the presenter could soon be made from other sources while the BBC resumed its internal corporate inquiry into Edwards’s conduct. However, the Sun later said it will not publish any more claims against the presenter.
Leading BBC journalists and former colleagues rallied around Edwards after he was named. John Simpson wrote: “I feel so sorry for everyone involved in this: for the Edwards family, for the complainants, and for Huw himself. No criminal offences were committed, so it’s a purely personal tragedy for everyone involved. Let’s hope the press leave them all alone now.”
Broadcaster Jon Sopel, formerly the BBC’s North America editor, described the situation as “awful and shocking” and hit out at some of the reaction to the claims.
The former editor of the Sun, David Yelland, said the newspaper had “inflicted terror” on Edwards and now faced a “crisis”.
The Sun’s initial story prompted further anonymous allegations against Edwards in the media. On Tuesday, the BBC reported that a person in their early 20s was contacted by the presenter on a dating app and pressured to meet up, but never did.
When the young person hinted online that they might name the presenter, they were allegedly sent abusive messages. The Sun also alleged that the presenter broke Covid lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old, whom he had met on a dating site.
Flind, who has five children with Edwards, said in a statement: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband, Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family. I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental wellbeing and to protect our children.
“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years. The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving inpatient hospital care, where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published. To be clear, Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
Edwards used his Twitter account to like a tweet suggesting the Sun could now “face the mother of all libel actions”. Edwards, one of the best-known faces on British television, is among the BBC’s most highly paid staff. He earns £430,000 a year for hosting the News at Ten, as well as the BBC’s election night and royal coverage.
The Sun’s story five days ago unleashed widespread speculation on social media and forced several BBC broadcasters including Jeremy Vine, Nicky Campbell and Gary Lineker to state publicly it was not them. On Tuesday, Vine urged the presenter to “come forward”.
The BBC met Metropolitan police detectives on Monday lunchtime. By Wednesday a police spokesperson said officers had found no case to answer.
They said: “Detectives from the Met’s specialist crime command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.
The young person’s family first attempted to complain about Edwards’s alleged behaviour by walking into a BBC office in May. They then called the BBC’s complaints line – usually used by members of the public unhappy with what they have watched on screen.
The corporation’s director general, Tim Davie, said on Tuesday that this initial complaint was then passed to the BBC’s internal investigations team, which concluded it was worth pursuing.
In a message to staff on Wednesday, he said: “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.”
A spokesperson for the Sun said: “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.
“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.”
For anyone experiencing depression, the UK charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393. In the US, Mental Health America is available on 800-273-8255. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978
