BBC staff ‘furious’ as Huw Edwards given highest salary in 5 years despite bosses knowing of arrest for months
BBC staff are “furious” after bosses admitted giving Huw Edwards a pay rise — despite knowing eight months ago that he had been arrested.
Corporation chiefs, who revealed they found out one of their highest-profile newsreaders had been questioned over child sex images in November, yesterday condemned his “abhorrent behaviour”.
The BBC continued to pay Edwards, who had been suspended in relation to different allegations but remained employed on a full salary of nearly £480,000, until he quit the broadcaster on “medical advice” in April.
It was revealed in the BBC’s annual report, presented last week by Director-General Tim Davie, that Edwards was the third highest-paid star from April 2023 to March this year.
He earned between £475,000 and £479,999 — up from £435,000 to £439,999 the previous year.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is now hauling in Mr Davie to explain why the BBC carried on paying Edwards after his arrest.
And Tory shadow culture minister Julia Lopez said: “Licence fee-payers have a right to know why Mr Edwards was awarded such a high salary given the timing and nature of the allegations.”
Staff have described Edwards still being paid as a “disgrace”.
They hit out after an internal note, co-signed by senior management including Mr Davie, chief executive Deborah Turness and chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva, was circulated.
It said: “Many of you will have seen that Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to charges against him.
“We are appalled by this news — there can be no place for such behaviour.
“Some of you may feel shocked and saddened by this news and will have worked closely with Huw Edwards over the years.
“Many of you will be working on this story, and we want to thank you for your professionalism in carrying on with your jobs in difficult circumstances.”
On yesterday’s One O’Clock News BBC culture and media editor Katie Razzall said she was “still in the dark” over who knew what and when.
She said: “This is reputationally damaging for the BBC — how bad depends on what they knew and when.
“Why was he still being paid five months after he was arrested last November and will the BBC try to recoup his salary?
“This is a man who, through his 40-year career, held our hand through some of the most important, most momentous times for our nation.
“He was also — according to the BBC’s annual report — the third highest-paid person in the BBC. That meant he was on a salary of up to £480,000 even after he has been suspended.
“It now emerges he was still being paid even after he had been arrested. He even got a £40,000 pay rise during the time he was suspended.
“Put simply, he was the face of the most trusted news brand in the UK and now — after this spectacular fall from grace — these guilty pleas have thrown all of that into question.
“Of course, there are questions, too, for Huw Edwards — did he inform the BBC? We have put these questions to the BBC and we are still in the dark about what the answers are.”
Reporting from Edwards’ old seat last night, Clive Myrie said: “To be clear, we here at BBC News are editorially independent when reporting on the corporation, and the news division only learnt of his arrest and the charges along with the rest of the media on Monday.”
They are humans who will live with this forever and all for the twisted pleasure of the disgusting men who trade and swap this misery
Nicky Campbell
BBC’s Adam Fleming added: “We as BBC employees don’t have special access to any of this stuff.
“We are as much in the dark as people watching the news and listening to this are.
“Even if you want to get answers from BBC management you have to go through the formal process of getting a comment via the press office. It’s not like because we’re the BBC we get special stuff.”
Broadcaster Nicky Campbell spoke out on Edwards’ guilty plea, branding his ex-BBC colleague “disgusting”.
Campbell, who bravely admitted he was molested by his history teacher in the 70s, wrote on X/Twitter: “Let’s think about the children in these images.
“Callously exploited and psychologically destroyed.
“They are not images. They are humans who will live with this forever and all for the twisted pleasure of the disgusting men who trade and swap this misery.”
In a separate post, he added: “And if mental health was mitigation for every custodial crime the prisons wouldn’t be at bursting point. They’d be half full.”
In a statement, the BBC said it was informed the former News at Ten anchor had been arrested over child abuse images on November 8.
It was four months after The Sun reported claims that Edwards had paid a teen £35,000 for explicit images.
We even handed the Beeb a dossier about his behaviour for its investigation.
Last week Edwards was charged with three counts of making indecent images but that stayed a secret until we broke the news on Monday.
A BBC spokesman said yesterday: “The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today.
“There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.
“The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023.
“Nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.
“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.
“At the time, no charges had been brought and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.
“Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court.
“If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.
BBC plagued by paedos
BY Tom Seaward
THIS is the latest in a long line of paedophile scandals dating back decades to have marred the BBC’s reputation.
Jimmy Savile’s shocking crimes rocked the corporation in 2012, when the presenter was revealed to be a prolific sex offender.
Savile, who died in 2011 before the allegations became widely known, is thought to have assaulted up to 450 young people, with police recording 31 allegations of rape against him.
His crimes stretched back to 1955 and allegations included the abuse of desperately ill children and necrophilia.
Jonathan King, BBC presenter and music impresario, was jailed for seven years in 2001 for molesting five teenage boys in the 1980s.
Thick of It actor Chris Langham was caged for ten months in 2007 for downloading child sex abuse images and videos.
It’s a Knockout star Stuart Hall got 30 months in 2013 for indecent assaults on girls.
Original Radio 1 presenter Chris Denning was caged for 13 years in 2014 for abusing 26 boys from 1967 to 1987, and got another 13-year sentence two years later.
He had also done jail time in the 1980s for assaulting boys.
And shamed presenter Rolf Harris was jailed for five-and- a-half years in 2014 for molesting four young girls, including one aged seven.
“In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.
“During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.
“We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.”
The statement came on a day of drama in which the BBC’s own reporters questioned the corporation’s actions.
Questions have also been raised about the secrecy surrounding the case.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens said: “It needs to be abundantly clear that he wasn’t getting any form of special treatment.”
TalkTV host Piers Morgan insisted: “The Sun was widely criticised for its Huw Edwards investigation but has now been completely vindicated.”
Former Sun editor David Yelland, who hit out at our exposé, said: “I criticised my old paper’s investigation into Huw Edwards but editor Victoria Newton is vindicated by the fact he pleaded guilty to — albeit unconnected — charges.
“The Sun has had a mighty victory, one which makes children safer.”