Huw Edwards fronted Prince Philip funeral coverage at time of indecent images offences
Huw Edwards fronted Philip funeral coverage at time of indecent images offences
Getty
Huw Edwards fronted Prince Philip's funeral coverage at the same time that he was accessing indecent images of children as young as seven, it has emerged.
The late Duke of Edinburgh died in April 2021, and his funeral took place amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 17 at St George's Chapel in Windsor.
Today at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of accessing the photographs after a man he met online sent him hundreds of sexual images on WhatsApp.
A court heard he was involved in the online chat between December 2020 and August 2021, and was sent 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
Prince Philip's funeral took place on August 17, 2021
PA
During that period, he fronted coverage of the funeral of the late Duke Of Edinburgh on April 17, 2021.
He also fronted a programme from Windsor Castle the night before the funeral, called HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Remembered.
He remained on air until July 2023, leading the corporation’s coverage of the late Queen’s platinum jubilee, her death and her funeral, as well as the Coronation of King Charles.
He only came off air after allegations emerged that he had paid a young person for sexually explicit photos, in a separate matter to the court hearing on Wednesday.
Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children PAHe remained on the payroll while suspended, which is normal BBC policy, and was suffering from serious mental health issues and received in-patient hospital care.
In February, the BBC apologised to the family of the young person after a review of how non-editorial complaints are handled at the corporation.
A report, commissioned in the wake of the scandal, found a need for “greater consistency” in how complaints are processed.
Edwards eventually resigned from the corporation in April 2024.
Huw Edwards officially resigned from the BBC in April this yearGettyLATEST HUW EDWARDS NEWS:
Huw Edwards is understood to have moved out of his family homeGetty The BBC confirmed at the time of his departure that he had not received a pay-off and was leaving “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors”.
It is not known if the BBC was aware Edwards had been arrested over the indecent images allegations on November 8, 2023, when he was still an employee at the corporation.
He continued to receive his salary for months after his arrest and was the corporation’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, before he resigned.
He was charged on June 26, several months after his resignation.
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