Huw Edwards scandal: Shock, anger and damage limitation in the BBC

When I started astatine BBC News 3 years ago, a enactment person gave maine immoderate proposal astir my caller workfellow Huw Edwards.

"You tin beryllium funny," they said. "But don’t beryllium funnier than Huw.

"You tin beryllium clever, but don’t beryllium excessively clever."

It was a light-hearted informing astir a presenter who, backmost then, was apical of the pack, highly regarded by galore successful the newsroom for his brilliance, his wit and his diligent professionalism.

But successful the past year, Edwards has gone from being king of the BBC newsroom - paid astir arsenic overmuch arsenic the manager wide - to a convicted enactment offender who connected Monday volition beryllium sentenced for making indecent images of children.

He has admitted having 41 indecent images, which had been sent to him by different antheral connected WhatsApp. They included 7 class A images - the astir superior classification. Two progressive a kid aged astir 7 to nine.

All the abused children successful these images person experienced the worst of humanity. They are victims of depravity.

Before we learnt of his offences, determination had been a lingering sympathy for Edwards from immoderate colleagues.

Discovering that the presenter was blameworthy of specified horrendous crimes rocked radical successful the newsroom to their core.

One BBC staffer speaks of "feeling sick".

Another describes it arsenic "a bombshell".

"We were frozen watching those images of him wearing his sunglasses walking to court. Was it defiance? Was it shame? Nobody knows.

"There's upset and choler astatine what he's done, the levels he's fallen to, however it's impacted the remainder of america and what it's done to the BBC."

For staff, peculiarly those who worked alongside him, it's been a hard year.

"There person been truthful galore twists and turns, it has felt similar a stroke each clip different fearfulness has been unveiled. It has felt unending."

When the Sun paper published its revelations successful July 2023 astir an unnamed presenter paying a "young person" for sexually explicit images, determination was shock.

Many of america knew from the commencement that the presenter was Edwards due to the fact that helium had disappeared from the presenting rota.

It was a investigating communicative for maine and my colleagues to cover.

Every connection we said and wrote was scrutinised and yet we knew truthful small astir the facts ourselves. Supported by superb producers and editors, I reported the communicative arsenic I understood it.

But galore - some wrong and extracurricular the BBC - argued Edwards' privateness had been invaded. And having to study astir a workfellow - not conscionable immoderate workfellow but the look of News astatine Ten - was relentless.

When his sanction was revealed, and we learned of his intelligence wellness struggles and that the constabulary said determination had been nary criminality successful that case, immoderate adjacent felt sympathy and concern.

Then for 9 months we heard thing authoritative - until a terse connection successful April that helium had resigned from the BBC.

With nary lukewarm words astir Edwards successful that statement, determination was a hint that relations had wholly breached down. Even so, cipher was prepared for what was to come.

BBC seat Samir Shah told the House of Lords' communications and integer committee past week that helium and different colleagues "feel aggravated and betrayed".

When helium sent an email to unit aft we learned that Edwards had been charged and pleaded guilty, helium called the erstwhile broadcaster "the villain of this piece".

A elder insider told me: "No-one wants to beryllium successful a concern wherever your flagship presenter, known up and down the country, and the dependable of spot successful everyone's household, is convicted of a transgression of this nature.

"It's truthful acold from your radar of things you mightiness person to woody with."

I recognize determination was wide fury successful the elder squad that Edwards had denied each wrongdoing portion helium knew he'd had images of superior kid maltreatment connected his mobile phone.

Both unit and absorption consciousness bruised.

Edwards has been progressive successful superior offences involving children. We indispensable ne'er hide the victims of these crimes.

Edwards is the criminal, not the BBC, though immoderate fishy helium is being utilized arsenic a mode to bash the organisation for ideological reasons.

As 1 elder insider enactment it to me, with a dense dose of sarcasm, “at the extremity of the day, it’s ever the BBC’s fault”.

But the corp has faced immoderate important questions done this bruising year.

It has asked Edwards to instrumentality astir £200,000 paid to him successful the 5 months aft helium was arrested earlier helium resigned.

But wherefore did it proceed to wage his wage erstwhile apical brass knew of the arrest? Some HR and ineligible voices person told maine that the BBC behaved appropriately, balancing its work of attraction and contractual responsibilities to an worker with wider reputational concerns.

But manager wide Tim Davie, speaking to the Lords committee, questioned whether the BBC could person been "more muscular successful the concern with respect to payment".

A precise tiny radical of elder radical knew astir the apprehension successful November (and we're told the constabulary had asked the BBC to support it confidential).

They were informed that immoderate of the images were class A, though they did not fishy the photographs progressive specified young children. The Sun communicative acrophobic a young idiosyncratic who was 17 initially - that discourse led to a content that the images progressive older teens.

Even so, they knew the images included class A photographs. BBC News unit I’ve spoken to, including elder people, bash not judge that the civilian enforcement of an employment declaration would person kept him successful his job, erstwhile the allegations were truthful serious.

A "more muscular" approach, surely successful hindsight, would person helped support the BBC's reputation.

The disciplinary process the BBC launched into Edwards aft the Sun claims - including details of different allegations made astir him - has ne'er been published. I person been told that's modular crossed organisations, but it's led to accusations of a deficiency of transparency.

The BBC has launched an autarkic reappraisal to fortify workplace culture. The seat told unit helium is "particularly exercised by the continuing occupation of however we grip atrocious behaviour by those successful powerfulness astatine the BBC".

Some I person spoken to accidental they don't consciousness reassured.

"The reappraisal that was done into the complaints made against him has been suppressed. So there's nary faith. It's convenient for the BBC that helium doesn't enactment for the BBC immoderate more. So they've done distant with it."

One elder fig rejects the thought of "a immense backlash astir that".

Another insider points to the "complex" powerfulness structures successful media organisations wherever managers person powerfulness but the "talent" are besides almighty due to the fact that of their power and status.

"The companies who employment them person to beryllium adjacent much vigilant, and connected apical of those powerfulness dynamics."

When Edwards boarded a bid from Edinburgh to London aft presenting the News astatine Ten from the Scottish superior connected 5 July 2023, his vocation and his spot successful TV past seemed secure.

He'd negotiated a £40,000 payrise taking his wage up to much than £475,000. He was truthful trusted by the BBC, he'd been chosen arsenic the idiosyncratic to denote the decease of the Queen.

A talented pianist, he'd besides been announced arsenic a caller look of the BBC Proms and was owed to look connected the One Show that week to speech astir it.

His quality was shelved. He would not big his archetypal Prom, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and helium had presented the quality for the past time.

In a face-to-face gathering the time aft presenting from Edinburgh, Edwards was told of the Sun’s claims. A fewer days later, helium was suspended.

Just past week, helium seemingly updated his Linkedin illustration to accidental helium is "available for nary complaint to charities and not-for-profit organisations" (the illustration appears to person since been deleted).

That raised eyebrows among immoderate colleagues - an penetration possibly into the caput of idiosyncratic they erstwhile thought they knew.

When helium presented the News astatine Ten, Edwards would beryllium connected a slope of desks successful the mediate of the newsroom, other whoever was editing the Six and Ten o'clock quality programmes.

With his long-standing journalistic pedigree and presumption successful the BBC firmament, colleagues deferred to him and, editorially, helium often got his way.

That's reasonably communal with the large beasts of broadcasting, and determination was cipher bigger than Edwards.

When my person warned me, arsenic I took up my job, to support him connected side, it made maine deliberation of Henry VIII successful Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, with Edwards a TV presenter Tudor monarch.

"You tin beryllium merry with the king, you tin stock a gag with him," Mantel writes successful Bring Up The Bodies.

But courtiers comparison Henry VIII to a tamed lion.

"You tousle its mane and propulsion its ears, but each the clip you’re thinking, those claws, those claws, those claws."