Huw Edwards: Huge pressure to name presenter amid allegations, BBC chair says

BBC bosses tried to navigate a "difficult" play "calmly and reasonably" aft allegations against presenter Huw Edwards sparked a media storm, its manager wide has said.

Last week, Edwards was revealed to beryllium the antecedently unnamed presenter astatine the centre of claims astir his behaviour.

In his archetypal nationalist comments since, Tim Davie spoke astatine the House of Lords.

He said the BBC wanted to beryllium "listening to and knowing concerns" from the idiosyncratic who primitively made allegations.

The Sun paper reported that a household had accused the News astatine Ten presenter of paying their teenage kid tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, which they said the young idiosyncratic spent connected drugs.

The young idiosyncratic aboriginal denied the claims done lawyers and constabulary confirmed they assessed nary grounds of transgression enactment aft speaking to radical progressive successful those archetypal allegations.

The BBC past resumed their ain interior investigation.

Speaking connected Tuesday, Mr Davie told the House of Lords communications and integer committee: "Since the play that we've been discussing, we person been successful interaction with the complainant.

"Obviously we privation to beryllium engaged and appropriately listening and knowing concerns."

After the archetypal communicative sparked speculation astir the presenter's individuality and behaviour, and led to further allegations, Mr Davie said BBC executives had attempted to equilibrium "difficult concerns astir the allegations themselves, work of care, privacy, and morganatic nationalist interest".

Acting BBC seat Dame Elan Closs Stephens added that the BBC committee met doubly successful the 2 days aft the archetypal allegations were published, portion determination was "huge pressure" to uncover Edwards' identity.

"We had a work to enactment with immoderate calm and rationality successful the look of deficiency of rationality and deficiency of calm," she told the committee. "There were an atrocious batch of questions that could not beryllium answered.

"There was a immense unit to disclose the sanction of idiosyncratic to whom we had a work of attraction and a work of privacy, successful summation to the household and young [person] that were acrophobic successful this maelstrom.

"So I was, connected the 1 hand, seeking to found the close of the committee to oversee what was happening. But astatine the aforesaid time, I was trying my champion to marque for a calm and rational treatment of the contented earlier we each got carried distant successful what could person been precise incorrect directions."

On Wednesday, Edwards' woman Vicky Flind disclosed that helium was the presenter astatine the centre of the allegations, and that helium was successful infirmary aft the erstwhile days had brought connected a "serious" intelligence wellness episode.

She said helium would code the allegations erstwhile helium is good capable to bash so.

The BBC is present carrying retired what Mr Davie described arsenic a "fact-finding investigation" into the allegations.

"We're successful the process of looking astatine those facts, and we're keen to person immoderate information, due to the fact that we conscionable privation to recognize thing that's retired there," helium said.

Both Mr Davie and Dame Elan became alert of the allegations the time earlier the Sun published its archetypal story.

But the household had primitively contacted the organisation 7 weeks earlier, and the BBC has been criticised for the velocity of its effect to their complaint.

Mr Davie said the BBC's "protocols and procedures" were present being reviewed, and that helium had "immediately" asked for a "quick look" astatine however "red flags" are raised erstwhile allegations are made.

Beyond the Edwards situation, the manager wide was asked whether each high-profile and highly-paid presenters had a work to uphold the BBC's reputation.

"Of course," helium replied. "The past of this manufacture is specified that we should each beryllium acrophobic and appropriately diligent astir the abusive radical successful almighty positions.

"Certainly you person a dynamic erstwhile you've got presenters oregon radical successful power... you request to guarantee that you're very, precise wide astir what your expectations are culturally arsenic good arsenic the policy."

The BBC had done "really bully work" successful having a "really wide codification of conduct" and reminding unit of the organisation's values, helium added.