CPS ‘breached open justice rules’ in Huw Edwards case by not revealing he had been charged over child sex pics
A PROMINENT lawyer has criticised the “very puzzling” handling of the Huw Edwards case after the Crown Prosecution Service did not make public the fact he’d been charged.
It has been revealed the former BBC newsreader was charged in June, but the details only emerged on Monday – after the date of his first court appearance was announced.
A former attorney general said he found it “very puzzling” that the CPS had not released details of the charges brought against Mr Edwards around the time he had been charged.
The 62-year-old, who left the BBC last year, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, charged with three offences relating to making indecent images of children on WhatsApp.
The former attorney general, who remained anonymous told The Telegraph: “It is very puzzling that the CPS did not release the charge details to the media.
“Normally, with high-profile cases, an announcement is made that charges have been brought. This notifies members of the media that a first court appearance is imminent to allow them to report on it, in accordance with the principles of open justice.
“I’m therefore puzzled that the CPS did not announce charges when they were brought in June, as at that point it became a public matter.”
A CPS spokesperson said: “Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment.
“Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues.”
Scotland Yard denied it had taken a different approach in informing the media in the case of Edwards.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “The approach taken in this case isn’t unusual.
“Quite often when there is a lengthy gap between the date someone is charged and their first appearance we will publish the details immediately before the first appearance.”