BBC is NOT an honest and respectable organisation - it does NOT deserve our money - Carole Malone

And Edwards did that courtesy of convicted sex offender, Alex Williams, who sent him disgusting images of children – some thought to be as young as seven.

Of course, after he was suspended by the BBC for having paid £35,000 for sleazy pics to a 17-year-old last year, he trotted out the mental health argument and the effect was that the press was all but gagged and wasn’t allowed to probe further into Edwards for fear he might hurt himself.

I’m sorry but every sex offender is mentally ill. Every one who pores over explicit images of children is mentally ill but that cannot be used as an excuse for them to escape scrutiny or punishment.

Now, however, the truth is out and it’s the end of Edwards’ glittering career not to mention everything he previously held dear - his marriage, his family.

But what about our esteemed state broadcaster which always behaves like it’s a cut above the rest of the media in this country?

Edwards’ bosses knew EIGHT months ago that their star newsreader had been arrested over the offences he’s now admitted to yet still carried on paying him his obscene £440,000 salary and even worse, gave him a forty grand pay rise on top.

The pathetic excuse was that Edwards hadn’t been charged until recently and that had he been charged BEFORE he resigned they would very definitely have fired him. So they’re saying they’d have fired him only when there was absolutely no other choice.

So they sat on the news of his arrest. Was that to protect their own backsides because they knew questions would be asked about why they hadn’t acted sooner over the rumours about him?

They’d also ignored and dismissed the distressed parents of the 17-year-old Edwards had paid £35,000 to. They chose instead to throw their support behind Edwards, the now-convicted sex offender.

Then again, the BBC has form for turning a blind eye to hideous, debauched behaviour by its biggest stars.

Just think Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, Stuart Hall, Jonathan King. All were allowed to continue to earn vast amounts of money courtesy of our licence fee even though their bosses suspected, and in some cases had been told, about their degeneracy.

They treated their Golden Boys as if they were sacrosanct, untouchable, and free to do whatever they chose.

Can you see a pattern here - the Corporation ignoring or not acting quickly enough on hellish rumours, accusations and in some cases actual complaints about their stars’ appalling behaviour until there was literally no choice. Surely that makes it entirely unsuitable to be the State broadcaster?

And it's here I say Thank God for tabloid newspapers. Because if it was up to institutions like the BBC to police or break stories about criminal, indecent behaviour by their own staff – we’d never have known anything about Edwards or Savile or Rolf Harris.

But how can it be that the state broadcaster which is funded by a forced tax on the British people – has been allowed to move on from all the paedo scandals in recent years? Why weren’t the people who allowed them all to happen not sacked? Why has no one ever been held accountable?

Had any of these scandals happened at any other TV station –particularly this one - the BBC would have been the one screaming the loudest.

As of yet, we’ve had no apology from the BBC. In fact, their hypocrisy this week has been staggering. The Director General, Tim Davie and various other members of the BBC’s senior management signed off an internal note to staff expressing horror at Edward's “appalling behaviour” ( sounding like it was the first they knew of it) and then followed that with “There is no room for such behaviour.”

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Well clearly, under those bosses, there very definitely was.

And what’s happened to the BBC’s own internal review? It’s ridiculous enough it was allowed to review and investigate itself. But where IS it and why has it taken months? Why hasn’t the public, who pay the BBC’s bosses outrageous salaries, not yet had chapter and verse about the complaints made against Edwards by other members of staff?

Or are they going to try and sweep that under the carpet too?

The BBC yet again has failed to do the right thing not just by licence fee payers but by its own staff who need to be protected from predators like Huw Edwards. And had it not been for The Sun’s story it would never have pursued any allegations against him.

The days are long gone when the BBC can pretend to be a respectable, upright, honest organisation. It’s not and it doesn’t deserve our money. #DefundTheBBC