The Albany Gazette - BBC restarts inquiry into sex pictures scandal as star named

Huw Edwards, 61, was dramatically named on Wednesday in a statement by his wife, six days after The Sun daily reported claims that an unnamed presenter had paid a young person £35,000 ($45,000) for sexually explicit pictures.

The family of the young person claimed they had used the money to fuel a crack cocaine addiction but the now 20-year-old dismissed the allegations as "rubbish".

Six days of fevered social media speculation led other high-profile media figures to rule themselves out, with one urging the presenter to come forward to prevent others being "falsely accused".

Putting an end to the guessing game as the BBC's 6:00 pm bulletin went on air, Edwards' wife Vicky Flind confirmed his identity "primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children".

She said the father-of-five was "suffering from serious mental health issues" and had been admitted to hospital "where he will stay for the foreseeable future".

The publicly funded broadcaster had paused its own investigation into the claims against Edwards at the request of police.

But the BBC's "fact-finding investigations" resumed after two police forces -- London's Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police -- said there was no evidence a criminal offence had been committed.

- 'Inappropriate messages' -

BBC director general Tim Davie promised staff in a note that "due process" would be followed and said the corporation's "immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved".

Media commentators are now debating the ethics of The Sun publishing the original story, given that the alleged victim rejected the claims and said they had told the tabloid not to publish.

There has also been discussion about the unregulated free-for-all on social media, while traditional media outlets were bound by strict privacy and defamation laws.

The BBC meanwhile reported that two more people -- an employee and a former employee -- had come forward with complaints of "inappropriate messages" from Edwards, including some "late at night and signed off with kisses".

They added there had been "a reluctance among junior staff to complain to managers about the conduct of high-profile colleagues in case it adversely affected their careers", the BBC's Newsnight programme reported.

The programme's claims take the total number of people who have reportedly made complaints to the media about the star in the past week to six.

The BBC reported on Tuesday that a person in their 20s had come forward to say they received "threatening messages" from Edwards.

That followed more claims from The Sun in which they reported that Edwards broke Covid lockdown rules to meet another young person he met on a dating site.

Another, aged 17, said the star had sent them "creepy" messages containing love hearts and kisses on Instagram when they were aged 17, The Sun said.

Edwards has been the anchor of the BBC's News at Ten since 2003 and was the journalist entrusted with announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

The scandal comes after the BBC -- whose brand is built on public trust -- was rocked in recent years by scandals which saw some of their biggest names revealed as serial sex offenders.

(K.Lüdke--BBZ)