Culture Secretary: BBC Must Reassure Public After Huw Edwards Scandal

The Culture Secretary has expressed her concern about the detection of “warning signs” in the future after the former BBC presenter Huw Edwards admitted to possessing indecent images of children.

Lisa Nandy urged the BBC to explore whether it can reclaim money from Huw Edwards’ salary in a meeting with Director General Tim Davie on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Edwards admitted to making indecent photographs, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type. The BBC acknowledged it was aware of his arrest in November.

When questioned about her meeting with Tim Davie, Lisa Nandy told BBC News: “We had a very robust and frank discussion about the circumstances around the case, and some of the decisions that have been made during that case and also since.

“Obviously, I am particularly concerned to make sure that people have confidence in the BBC.

“I think the director-general made a good start yesterday, in going out to be as open and transparent as possible with the public, both about what the BBC knew but also about why they made the decision they did, and also the use of taxpayers’ money, which is obviously important to a lot of people.”

She seemed to suggest that some findings from an internal investigation into Edwards should be made public.

She said: “I think we all recognize there is a job of work to do, to get more information in the public domain, to reassure people, not just about the decisions that have been made but also about the action that the BBC will take going forwards.

“My concern is to make sure warning signs are caught, complaints are acted on, that public money is used well, and to make sure as far as is humanly possible that we don’t have a repeat of this situation in the future.”

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stated that Lisa Nandy “like the whole nation, is shocked by Huw Edwards’ abhorrent actions, and her thoughts are with the victims whose lives have been destroyed. It is now for the judiciary to decide on an appropriate sentence.”

Huw Edwards, who resigned on medical advice in April, was the broadcaster’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.

This marked a £40,000 pay rise from the previous year when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999.

The DCMS statement indicated that Lisa Nandy “sought assurance that the BBC has robust processes in place regarding non-editorial complaints and the handling of complex contractual matters. This is to ensure that in future, the corporation can act swiftly and be transparent with the public at the earliest opportunity to maintain trust.”

Ms. Nandy has requested the broadcaster to keep her updated on any developments in the case.

In an interview with BBC News on Thursday, the director-general defended Edwards’ pay rise, explaining that it was made up of an “inflationary increase” and additional work the veteran broadcaster did at the corporation in February 2023 before any allegations were made.

Mr. Davie also mentioned that the corporation will “look at all options” in trying to reclaim pay from Edwards.

The BBC chief said: “These are, unfortunately, the specifics of how it works, that we can’t claw back pensions.”

“I think when it comes to pay, again, legally challenging, but we’ll look at all options.”

Mr. Davie also stated that the BBC was following police advice when they did not disclose Edwards’ arrest publicly.

He added that senior managers were aware of the severity of the potential offenses but not the details of the charges.

Mr. Davie said: “The police came to us and said, ‘Look, we need to do our work in total confidence, we’ve arrested, please keep this confidential.’

“And at that point, I think the principle is clear in my mind, and I say we thought long and hard about this, this wasn’t a knee-jerk decision.”

“And it was difficult, but when the police, if you think about this in terms of precedent, people do get arrested and then we’ve had situations where no charges (are made) and there’s nothing there to be followed up on.”

While he knew the severity of the charges, Mr. Davie said he was “very shocked” when the details of Edwards’ arrest came to light in full earlier this week.

“We were very shocked. No one knew about the specifics of what we heard over the last few days, which have been deeply disturbing,” he said.

He stated that because Edwards remained suspended before his resignation in April, there were no issues relating to BBC employees’ safety.

He added: “Another factor at this point was very significant duty-of-care considerations.”

“I think it was right for us to say, ‘Look, we’ll let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act.'”

The BBC previously said after Edwards’ guilty plea that if he had been charged while he was still an employee, he would have been sacked. However, at the point of charge, he no longer worked for the corporation.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled” by the news when asked about the case at a press conference in Downing Street.

Edwards resigned from the BBC in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.

Police found no evidence of criminal behavior in the matter.

Edwards will next appear in court on September 16.

Source: BBC News