The wife informs that the well-known news anchor Huw Edwards is the BBC face at the center of the commotion.
PDO
The BBC presenter who has been the subject of heavy accusations in recent days has been named. Among other things, BBC News says that the wife of news anchor Huw Edwards, 61 Vicky Flind says in the announcement that her husband is the host in question. Last Friday, The Sun magazine published an article in which it was reported that an unnamed well-known BBC face paid a young person almost 41,000 euros for sending sexual images over a three-year period.
Flind says she is issuing the statement on behalf of Edwards and says her husband is currently hospitalized for mental health issues.
– I am doing this because I am concerned about his mental well-being and because I want to protect our children. Huw has serious mental health problems. As previously reported, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years, the wife says in the press release.
According to him, the commotion of the last few days has worsened Edwards’ condition significantly.
– He has now had a more serious season, and he is now receiving treatment in the hospital, where he will remain for the time being, says the wife.
PDO
A familiar face
Welshman Huw Edwards has worked for the BBC since the mid-1980s. He has become one of the most recognizable faces in the broadcaster’s news. He has piloted the ten o’clock news, but has also been on the screen reporting on special news events, such as the election and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Edwards and Flind have five children.
Since the identity of the male host was not revealed at first, a lot of speculation arose. Huw Edwards’ wife says that she is publishing the statement also for the reason that unfounded speculations related to other BBC presenters would be stopped.
According to Flind, Edwards first became aware of the allegations against him on Thursday of last week, i.e. the day before The Sun’s article was published. The article stated that sending sexual images to the host started when the subject was 17 years old. Now the person is said to be 20 years old. The person’s mother told The Sun that her child financed his drug use with the sums of money he received from the presenter.
Will answer later
Now Edwards’ wife is asking for privacy for her family and emphasizes that her husband’s mental health problems have already been reported in the past.
– When he is in good enough health, he plans to respond to these now published stories, Flind says.
Last year, Edwards said publicly that he had struggled with depression for 20 years.
Due to the discussion caused by the case, the BBC ended up shelving Edwards from his job. The BBC itself investigated the case, but later transferred the investigation to the Greater London Police Service. BBC News reports that just minutes before the news anchor was named, the police announced that there was no reason to suspect a crime in the case. The police said that during the investigations they spoke with representatives of the BBC, but also with the person who was the target of the alleged activity and his family. The BBC is still continuing its own investigations into the case.
Earlier, it was reported that the person who allegedly sent the sexual images to the male presenter denied the information that was circulating in the public through his lawyer. According to the lawyer, the claims published by The Sun are “potash” and nothing improper has happened between the person and the presenter. The Sun responded to this by saying it had evidence to support the person’s mother’s account.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian