BBC news anchor Huw Edwards was named by his wife last night as the presenter at the centre of a ‘explicit photos for cash’ scandal which has surrounded the corporation this week.
Vicky Flind released a statement revealing her husband was the man at the heart of allegations that have been swirling around the BBC since the Sun newspaper published a story on Friday July 7.
Ms Flind said the father-of-five is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now receiving in-patient treatment.
In the Sun story, the mother of a young person claimed Mr Edwards had paid thousands of pounds for explicit images from the young person starting when they were 17.
A lawyer for the young person later said the allegations were “rubbish”, however the mother and step-father stood by their account.
Since the allegation emerged more claims have been made against the 61-year-old newsreader, although the police have said no criminal offence has been committed. The BBC is continuing its own “fact-finding investigation.”
The first claim emerged after a mother and stepfather said the presenter paid a young person from the age of 17 for explicit images.
The parent alleged the BBC presenter paid them “£35,000 over three years” in return for explicit images. The parent claimed the money had been used to “fund a drug addiction.”
A lawyer acting on behalf of the young person has denied the claims made by the parents.
Then BBC News received a claim from a person believed to be in their 20s who alleged the presenter made contact on a dating app. The young person claimed when they said they would name the presenter they received abusive messages. The BBC claimed it had “seen and verified” the messages.
The Sun reported claims from a third young person who alleged the presenter “broke lockdown rules” to meet them.
A 23-year-old said they travelled to a flat on February 2021 to meet the presenter having met on a dating site. It was reported the pair “just chatted” and a gift of £250 was sent to a PayPal account by the presenter. The Sun claims two other payments of £200 and £250 were made afterwards.
And a fourth person came forward and said they were contacted on the social media site Instagram by the presenter and sent messages with kisses and love heart emojis, according to The Sun.
The unnamed person said they were 17 when they received the contact and said “looking back now” the messages were “creepy.” the newspaper reported.
Former and current BBC employees claimed they received “inappropriate messages” from Mr Edwards.
BBC employees, a current and a former, were reported by BBC Newsnight to have made new claims against the presenter. The staff members said they had received “inappropriate messages”, with some “late at night and signed off with kisses”.
Newsnight said both claimed there was “a reluctance among junior staff to complain to managers about the conduct of high-profile colleagues in case it adversely affected their careers.”
