The parents at the centre of the Huw Edwards scandal were reportedly “consumed by fear” as they told their story.
The reporter who relayed the allegations against the BBC star has claimed the couple showed an “unmistakable terror” as they met them at their home.
The Sun’s Scarlet Howes explained the moment she met the parents who started the controversy that has seen Mr Edwards hospitalised with “serious mental health issues”.
She said the two were “down-to-earth”, “proud”, and driven by a “panic” about their child, who they said was suffering from a crack addiction.
They claimed their child was using money obtained from Mr Edwards, who has been cleared of any criminality following this week’s ordeal.
The centrepiece story run by The Sun on Thursday, July 6, relayed the parents’ claims that a then-unnamed presenter had paid £35,000 for pictures of a sexual nature from a 17-year-old, who is now 20.
Mr Edwards was named by his wife, Vicky Flind, on Wednesday, July 12, after he was admitted to inpatient hospital care in a vulnerable state.
She added that he would stay there “for the foreseeable future” as police and the BBC continued their investigations.
The Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police have concluded their investigations into the allegations after finding that there was no information indicating a criminal offence was committed.
A lawyer for the person at the centre of the controversy has also deemed the allegations “rubbish”, and denied that any illegal activity had taken place between them and Mr Edwards.
The Sun has since reported that the parents went to the authorities in a bid to prevent money being sent to their child.
The “panic-stricken” couple had pursued a “succession of authorities” without resolution and turned to the publication after they had exhausted “all options”.
The stepfather, the report said, had stormed into the BBC building to demand the exchange “end today”, and the mother spoke out after reaching “breaking point”.
And it added that the child and their mother’s “lives needed to be saved”.
The parents now “remain steadfast” that they can find a way through what The Sun termed an “unimaginable crisis” as their child was reportedly endangered by drug dealers and fellow addicts.
The newspaper is now under the spotlight following new allegations that it received the statement from the young person’s representatives denying criminality before it published the claims.
The Sun published the deal on the night of Monday, July 10, four days after the initial story, and has since claimed that at “no point” did it allege criminality and chose not to name Mr Edwards nor the young person.
