The Saturday edition of the Sun started the frenzy. Its front-page splash contained allegations that an unnamed BBC presenter had paid thousands of pounds for explicit photos to a young person he had been in touch with since they were 17.
Instantly, the guessing game began. And as the Guardian’s media editor, Jim Waterson, tells Nosheen Iqbal, BBC presenters were clambering to get out in front of the story and deny they were the man at the centre of it. The BBC suspended the presenter and the police began investigating, although they quickly concluded it was not a matter for them. On Wednesday evening, in a statement by his wife, Vicky Flind, it emerged the allegations were related to the News at Ten anchor Huw Edwards.
The entire story, many details of which remain unclear, has left the two media organisations at the centre of it with difficult questions to answer. The lack of a police investigation has left the Sun exposed to questions of its justification for running the scoop. While the BBC now has a highly sensitive investigation to run into one of its biggest stars who is being treated in hospital for severe depression.
Photograph: BBC
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