Michelle Dewberry fumes at ‘revolting’ Huw Edwards after indecent images sentencing: ‘We’ve all been paying his wages!’

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, the former BBC presenter learned his fate of sixth months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He is now facing calls to repay the £200,000 salary he has received since his arrest, with BBC director-general Tim Davie among those to make the demand.

Michelle did not hide her dismay during a lively Dewbs & Co on GB News, branding the man who delivered the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death “revolting”.

She said: “I absolutely think that he should be in prison. People use the term ‘child porn’, there is no such thing.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Lib Dems want restoration of some EU single movement NOW - as Ed Davey admits rejoining bloc remains 'long term objective'
• SNAP POLL: Is UK justice broken when Huw Edwards walks free while Southport social media posters get jail?
• REVEALED: Civil service farce as 67% of staff have 'no function' and promotions soar

“Children cannot be porn actors. When you’re looking at so-called child porn, you’re looking at abuse.

“It absolutely revolts me. I think it’s important to say that we have all been paying Huw Edwards’s wages.

“He knew he’d done wrong, and he carried on taking our licence payers’ money.”

Ex-Tory secretary Michelle Donelan added that the sentencing could set a precedent for future crimes.

“I think the bigger issue as well is that, yes, he should be treated the same as everybody else, however, this has shone a spotlight on it and people that are bad actors out there might have seen this and felt encouraged”, she said.

“They might think, ‘if he has got away with this, I can too’.”

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with convicted paedophile Alex Williams telling the newsreader the child was “quite young looking” and that he had more images which were illegal.

Chief Magistrate, district judge Paul Goldspring, said reputational and financial damage was the “natural consequence of your behaviour which you brought upon yourself”.

The BBC said Edwards had “betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him” – adding that the corporation was “appalled by his crimes”.

The court also heard Edwards paid Williams hundreds of pounds after he sent him pornographic images, but his defence barrister Philip Evans KC said the broadcaster did not make payments to Williams in order to receive indecent images of children.

The prosecution said Williams asked Edwards for a “Christmas gift after all the hot videos”.

Prosecutor Ian Hope said: “Alex Williams says he wants some Air Force 1 trainers that cost around £100, and Mr Edwards offers to send him £200.”