Figurehead and highest-paid newsreader Huw Edwards brings BBC into big trouble with sex riot | Abroad

Without revealing his identity, boulevardkrant reported The Sun for days about Huw Edwards (61). A teenager sent racy photos to the BBC celebrity for tens of thousands of pounds. The public broadcaster’s newsreader refused to identify himself until his wife came forward on Wednesday out of fear for his well-being. Edwards, broken, is now in the psychiatric ward of a hospital.

Colleagues of the anchorman, who has been suspended since Sunday, welcomed the announcement. Social media sleuths randomly pointed fingers at TV stars like Gary Lineker and Jeremy Vine, who suddenly stopped appearing on television. although The Sun kept coming up with new revelations, no one was allowed to speak out for privacy reasons.

Now that Edwards’ wife has come out, the BBC can assess the damage. The status of the Welsh man makes the media group vulnerable. With a salary of half a million euros, Edwards is the highest-paid news anchor of the state broadcaster. As a presenter of News at Ten, he belongs to the table silver. Edwards took the people by the hand in major events for two decades. From the setting around the death of the Queen to her funeral and the national elections.

Last Wednesday, Edwards broadcast King Charles’s visit to Edinburgh. After that he did not appear on TV anymore. The account of the teenager’s parents about his transgressive behavior then reached the BBC’s management. Edwards would have approached the person when he was 17. The contact eventually led to the sending of sexual images.

The alleged victim was generously rewarded for this. According to his mother and foster father, Edwards transferred more than 40,000 euros to his account. They also claimed that the duo regularly video called each other. On found material, Edwards is said to be sitting in his underwear in front of his screen awaiting a “show” from their child. The proceeds were used to fund an addiction to cocaine.

The Sun initially insinuated that the teen may have been a minor. The BBC called in the police to investigate any crime. The Metropolitan Police subsequently stated that Edwards had not broken the law. Through a lawyer, the now 20-year-old stated that the whole case was ‘nonsense’. The Sun stepped up the pressure by publishing three similar incidents involving young people around Edwards.

Ministers demanded clarity from the broadcaster. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak even received questions about the situation after the NATO summit in Vilnius. How could it be that Edwards, whose name was unknown at the time, had been held over for so long? In mid-May, the parents had filed a complaint. Despite its sensitivity, nothing happened with this. Only then The Sun announced to publish last week, the alarm was raised.

The BBC indicated that the information could not be verified, allowing Edwards to continue his work after the initial report. British media call this behavior extremely naive. This was not just a looming scandal, but a potential earthquake. And British television had only just recovered from the free fall of ratings gun Phillip Schofield at the commercial competitor ITV.

This Morning co-host Schofield engaged in an illicit workplace relationship with a young man, while hiding his sexual orientation from his wife. The fact that Schofield met him at the age of 15, arranged a job for him at the program and structurally lied about their close relationship, made his position untenable. The management of ITV, hounded by tabloids, was in his shirt.

The BBC’s Newsnight and Radio 4 editors further cornered their own cramped leadership. The journalists heard from three staff members within the group that Edwards sent them inappropriate messages. Fearing for their careers, they did not sound the alarm sooner. This gives the case an extra dimension. Not only Edwards, but also the culture of the BBC is under attack.

Edwards was loved by the public and on the editorial floor. He responds to the allegations when he is “sufficiently recovered.” That could take weeks. “I’m not criticizing The Sun, but we haven’t heard his side of the story yet,” said former BBC editor Tim Luckhurst. Edwards returning to his post seems unthinkable. His image of an incorruptible anchor no longer exists.