BBC bosses were warned that a complaint was made about Huw Edwards as far back as 2012, a dossier of emails has revealed.
An email titled ‘private and confidential’ was sent to BBC director-general Tim Davie, an hour before Britain’s most famous newsreader was due to be sentenced over making indecent images of children on September 16 2024.
The disgraced presenter was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted having 41 indecent images of children which were sent to him by paedophile Alex Williams on WhatsApp.
Moments before Edwards entered the dock, Mr Davie was warned that a complaint had been made about the Welsh newsreader’s conduct in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal in 2012 – some 10 years before Edwards was suspended.
Mr Davie was sent the email by a former BBC employee, who said he wished to ‘personally and potentially flag an area of risk to the Corporation that you may not be previously aware of’.
They said a complaint had been made against Edwards, adding: ‘The reason for my email to you is just to flag that there is a high probability that this complaint was documented somewhere but was (by recollection) to have been deemed non actionable.’
The ex-employee stressed that this was ‘not necessarily a criminal allegation and I have no real specifics I can offer you – other than it exists’. Mr Davie replied three minutes later, confirming he would share it with the team investigating past allegations.
In a dossier of emails, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by The Sunday Times, it has also been revealed how Edwards made a ‘very serious allegation’ himself and how BBC bosses used secret code names for his arrest.
Following Edwards’ dramatic fall from grace, it emerged that Edwards’ bosses had twice warned him about his online behaviour, first in 2021 and then in 2022, when he became close to a vulnerable woman on Instagram and email.
But it can now be revealed that these were not the first allegations made against Edwards. The email to Mr Davie stated that the complaint was ‘most likely [listed] under the so-called ‘C-List’ if it’s anywhere’.
The author of the email was referring to a spreadsheet of allegations against BBC stars that was created after Savile’s heinous crimes were exposed a year after his death.
The incident log, made by the BBC HR team, separated complaints into categories – A for high-risk allegations involving sexual assault or other criminality, B for former high-risk cases where police were not able to take them forward so they would be handled internally, and C – for ‘non-high risk actions’.
The C-List involved cases that were not necessarily criminal but included allegations of bullying and harassment. The BBC has a longstanding position not to comment on any internal HR matters.
On August 16 2024, an email from Deborah Turness to Edwards reveals that the presenter had reported an allegation to the BBC – and also agreed to pay back part of his salary which has been the subject of public fury.
The BBC News chief executive writes: ‘Dear Huw, I note you propose to repay part of your salary paid to you since your arrest last year and would ask that you now do so without delay.
‘Your email makes a very serious allegation and so I have made colleagues aware of it. If you have emails in your possession that raise issues that you are concerned about I would urge you to share them with us so we can look into them.
‘While you believe that you are drawing an evident risk to my attention, I do find it surprising that you should think it appropriate to do so in the form that you have.’
The BBC has still not recieved a penny of Edwards’ salary, which soared to £475,000-a-year when he signed a three-year contract in March 2023. He also received further payments for his coverage of royal and state occasions for BBC Studios.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Edwards has refused multiple requests to hand back the £200,000 he was paid after his arrest.
Emails obtained by The Sunday Times also show how executives had secret code names for Edwards and the allegations against him, namely ‘Finch’ and ‘Redstart’.
And it has also been revealed how Ms Turness warned colleagues to ‘buckle up’ on the eve of Edwards’ resignation.
Edwards stepped down from the BBC in April ‘on medical advice’ following a tumultuous nine months when he was plunged into the centre of a sex pictures scandal.
On July 7 2023, The Sun reported an unnamed BBC star who had paid a teenager thousands of pounds for explicit photos.
The police said they would not be taking further action, but Edwards’ wife then publicly named her husband as the star in question on July 12 that year.
Vicky Flind also revealed at the time that Edwards was now in hospital with ‘serious mental health issues’. Six new allegations followed and Edwards would go onto be investigated over making indecent images of children.
His arrest in November 2023 was not made public until July 2024, when the Met Police confirmed he had been charged.
Edwards pleaded guilty to having made indecent images of children on July 31 last year at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, including seven of the most serious category A, one believed to be of a child aged seven to nine.
He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and is now living with his elderly mother, back in the Welsh village where he spent his childhood.
A BBC spokesperson told : ‘The BBC believes that Huw Edwards should return the money paid to him by the BBC, covering the period between his arrest and his resignation.’
has contacted Edwards for comment.
March 2023
Huw Edwards signs new three-year deal with the BBC after praise for the way he led coverage of the Queen’s death.
It came after he was seen at the offices of the BBC’s biggest radio rival – Global – in August 2022. The News at Ten veteran admitted at the time he was ‘thinking about my future’.
In June that year he would pick up the best live event honour at the Tric Awards for being among those to cover the state funeral of the late Queen, and in February he received the Broadcast Awards’ special recognition award.
April 2023
Police were contacted but ‘no criminality was identified’.
May 6, 2023
Edwards hosts coverage of King Charles’ coronation as he lead the BBC broadcast of the historic event.
May 18, 2023
A family member of the young person, who was 17 at the time, made an in-person complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter.
May 19, 2023
A complainant contacted the BBC in a 29-minute call to the BBC’s audience services team, and the details were referred to the Corporate Investigations Team.
The family member reportedly asked the broadcaster to stop sending their family member cash.
The Corporate Investigations Team decided the complaint didn’t include an allegation of criminality, but merited more investigation.
The investigators email the complainant to get more information but they get no response.
June 6, 2023
After getting no reply to the email, the Corporate Investigations Team tries to call the complainant but the call does not connect.
However, the Sun reported later that the family said no one from the corporation phoned them for a proper interview after they complained.
The BBC said no more attempts to contact the family were made after this date, but that the case ‘remained open’.
July 5, 2023
Huw Edwards is seen for the last time on the BBC as he covered King Charles’ visit to Scotland.
July 6, 2023
The Sun informs BBC Press Office about allegations against the star presenter.
The BBC launches an ‘incident management group’ of top executives after becoming aware of new allegations ‘of a different nature’ against the presenter.
It is the first time Mr Davie or any executive directors were made aware of the case, according to the BBC.
A senior manager holds the first conversation with the presenter concerned.
It is agreed he should not appear on air while the allegations are investigated.
July 7, 2023
The Sun published its exclusive which alleged that a BBC presenter, unnamed at the time, paid a total of £35,000 for sexual content to someone beginning when they were 17.
But a lawyer acting on behalf of the young person told The Sun that evening there was ‘no truth’ to the claims.
The BBC said it would investigate and it made contact with the Metropolitan Police.
July 8, 2023
The complainant sends the BBC ‘materials related to the complaint’.
There is a frenzy of speculation about the identity of the star. Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell all feel obliged to deny that they were the man in question.
July 9, 2023
The BBC confirms that a male presenter has been suspended from all duties.
The Sun reports that the presenter allegedly made two phone calls to the young person and pleaded with them to call their mother to stop the investigation.
July 10, 2023
BBC representatives and Metropolitan Police detectives meet in the morning to discover if any crimes have been committed.
The young person claims through a lawyer that the allegations are ‘rubbish’.
In response, the Sun said it had ‘reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child’.
The parents stood by their account to the Sun and the stepfather was quoted in a story saying the allegations were originally put the the BBC ‘for an hour’.
July 11, 2023
Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie defends the delay in speaking to the BBC presenter.
But the BBC admits there were ‘lessons to be learned’ prompting a boss to assess the protocols.
In the afternoon, new claims emerged from the BBC that the presenter sent threatening messages to a second young person.
It is claimed they met on a dating app, before the conversation moved to other platforms where the presenter revealed his identity.
He then allegedly sent a number of ‘threatening messages’ to the youngster, which the BBC has seen.
The Sun reported the star is also accused of breaking lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old stranger from a dating site.
July 12, 2023
Huw Edwards is revealed as the BBC presented by his wife Vicky Flind.
She said he was ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’.
The bombshell revelation came just moments after the police said they were ‘taking no further action’ in the case.
But BBC boss Mr Davie sent an email to staff informing them that an internal investigation would continue even though police were no longer involved.
The BBC reported fresh allegations from two current junior members of staff and one former member of staff who claim they were sent messages that made them uncomfortable.
July 12, 2023
Mr Davie asked for a second review of the BBC’s complaints protocols after it was revealed the family were only contacted twice by the corporation – despite the seriousness of the allegations.
November 8, 2023
Edwards is arrested, but tells noone.
Later speaking to , one shocked former colleague and friend said: ‘Huw kept his arrest completely secret’.
They added: ‘It turns out he was arrested four months later and nobody knew. I had no idea until he was charged.’
February 27, 2024
The BBC apologised to the young person’s family, who’d complained about Edwards two months before he was suspended.
An independent report by Deloitte is published into the BBC’s complaints handling procedure
The publicly-funded broadcaster acknowledged that there had been ‘shortcomings’ in the way it had dealt with the case as it reviewed its complaints procedures.
April, 2024
Edwards took sanctuary in his beloved Wales and was being comforted in Carmarthenshire by his mother Aerona.
April 22, 2024
Edwards resigns from the BBC.
Broadcasting executive Stewart Purvis CBE said there is ‘relief across the BBC’ that the ‘extraordinarily damaging saga’ has been resolved.
He added that Edwards having ‘walked from the BBC’ will be viewed as ‘quite a successful outcome’ for the corporation.
June 26, 2024
Edwards is charged with the possession of indecent images of children.
Interrupting coverage of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ statement in the House of Commons, the BBC announced the breaking news on July 29.
According to the charge sheet, he was accused of having six category A images, 12 category B pictures and 19 category C photographs on WhatsApp.
July 23, 2024
The BBC’s annual report reveals Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24 for 160 presenting days, BBC One news specials, election specials and other television programming.
This salary marked an increase from 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999 for 180 days presenting on BBC One, as well as news specials.
This was despite him being absent from screens from when the story first broke in July last year until his exit nine months later in April 2024.
But he stayed on the payroll while suspended, which is normal BBC policy, and was suffering from serious mental health issues and received in-patient hospital care.
The BBC confirmed at the time of his departure that he had not received a pay-off and was leaving ‘on the basis of medical advice from his doctors’.
Director general Tim Davie defended the pay and the rise, confirming there was ‘no settlement payment.’ He also said he was not going to ‘get into who’s spoken to who’ when asked if he had spoken to Edwards since his resignation.
July 31, 2024
Edwards pleads guilty to making 41 indecent images of children – and faces jail.
The newscaster admitted he kept seven category ‘A’ images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by a paedophile.
The sick child porn images showed youngsters aged between seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He remained emotionless as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, between December 2020 and August 2022.
His admission now leaves the former news star’s glittering four-decade career in tatters.
September 16, 2024
Edwards is handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.