Huw Edwards faces jail as disgraced BBC News presenter set to be sentenced for being sent indecent images of children as young as seven by convicted paedophile

Huw Edwards, one of Britain’s most famous newsreaders, will return to court today where he could be sentenced over receiving sexual images of children as young as seven.

The disgraced former BBC News star has admitted three charges of ‘making’ indecent photographs after he was sent 41 images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams in vile WhatsApp messages.

The 63-year-old is on conditional bail and is set to be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court at 10am today, following his guilty pleas in July. He could face up to 10 years in jail.

Seven of the indecent images shared with Edwards by Williams were of the most serious type. Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police – receiving a 12-month suspended sentence. 

Former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in July

In July, Edwards admitted three charges of ‘making’ indecent photographs after he was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams over WhatsApp

Alex Williams, 25, shared indecent images with Huw Edwards that led to the newsreader’s downfall. Williams is pictured here as a teenager on a family trip to a Welsh beauty spot

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with the convicted paedophile telling the newsreader the child was ‘quite young looking’ and that he had more images which were illegal.

Overall the charges cover a period between December 2020 and August 2021.

The BBC has admitted it was informed that the former TV presenter had been arrested in November but continued to employ him for around five months until he left on medical advice.

Edwards, one of the BBC’s most famous stars who presented the Queen’s death and King Charles’ coronation, has not been on TV since he was named by his wife as the high-profile presenter at the centre of a sexual pictures scandal in July 2023.

In the completely separate case, Edwards was accused of paying £35,000 to a young person in exchange for sexual images. 

The Met Police confirmed that no criminal offence was committed in this instance.

The mother of the teenager told The Sun that Edwards has caused ‘immense pain and suffering’ and should be locked up.

In a powerful open letter published by the newspaper, she said: ‘I am today writing this open letter to make you understand the immense pain and suffering you have caused me, my son, my family, your own family – and all of your victims over the years.’ 

She said that her ‘heart breaks for every one’ of the young children ‘robbed of their innocence forever for your sick pleasure’ and their families who have gone through what she has.

She wrote of how her son was happy before the disgraced news anchor ‘wormed’ his way into the teenager’s life from the age of 17.

The distressed mother said her son began having problems with drink and drugs, which was further fuelled by Edwards’ ‘pestering him for pictures’ and paying him ‘tens of thousands’.

She said Edwards: ‘Sent text messages calling him ‘Princess’ to control him and keep him onside.’

Concluding the letter, she told Edwards: ‘That you have lost everything is no consolation to us. You will receive your punishment in court.’

The teenager who was paid £35,000 by the former BBC star is now 21. He allegedly was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement and said he felt ‘groomed’ by the disgraced presenter.

Although no criminality was found from these allegations, the Met revealed in July this year that Edwards had separately been charged with making indecent images of children. 

In a dramatic fall from grace, the force confirmed Edwards had been arrested on November 8 2023 and charged on June 26 2024.

Edwards pictured in 1999. He would go on to become one of the BBC’s highest-paid stars

Edwards spent 40 years working his way up the ranks of the BBC, first coming to national attention presenting the BBC Six O’Clock News

Edwards announcing the news of Her Majesty’s death to the nation in September 2022

Edwards pictured with his wife Vicky Flind in London in 2018. She named him as the high-profile presenter as the centre of a sexual pictures scandal

Police officers clear the way as former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on July 31 

Welsh police uncovered the broadcaster crimes during a separate probe into a sex offender

Five days later, Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children – and will be sentenced today. 

Edwards, who resigned from the BBC in April, has been asked to repay the £200,000 salary he has received since his arrest. 

BBC director-general Tim Davie said the money should be returned and that the corporation will ‘explore’ the legal process if Edwards refuses.

Mr Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah were questioned by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee last Wednesday.

Regarding the disgraced presenter’s pay, Mr Davie said: ‘We’ve made the formal request, and I can’t go into too much detail, but discussions are under way, but I’ve got no further news, apart from the BBC’s position is clear, the money should be returned, and we made the request.’

When asked if he set a deadline, he said: ‘I don’t believe we set a deadline… but we do expect to make progress and get an answer.’

Mr Shah told the same committee that Edwards had ‘damaged’ the BBC’s reputation.

Huw Edwards, 62, at the pinnacle of his career and picking up a television award for Best Live Event for covering the late Queen’s funeral

The star anchor’s prestigious career involved breaking the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and both Prince William and Prince Harry’s weddings. Pictured with Justin Welby on May 6, 2023

Edwards is seen on screen for what would be the last time before the scandal became public, when he covered King Charles’ visit to Scotland

Edwards, of Wandsworth, wore a dark blue suit with a blue tie in the dock in July

He said: ‘There’s nothing more important than public trust in the BBC, and we are custodians of that trust and what Huw Edwards did damaged the reputation and the trust for the BBC so we take that very seriously indeed.

‘I should say, it was a shock to discover, when it was announced, when he was charged, that he had led this double life.

‘On the face of it, a trusted news presenter, but hidden, secretly, he was this figure who did the most appalling things. I mean, let’s never forget the victims.’

He added that he ‘knew him’, having overseen current affairs at the BBC decades ago, and said that other staff who worked with him ‘feel angry and betrayed’ by Edwards.

The relevant images range from the most serious category, known as category A, to the least serious, known as Category C.

They include seven category A images, 12 category B images, and 22 category C images.

The Sentencing Council, a public body sponsored by the Ministry Of Justice, defines category A images as those involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal, or sadism.

Category B images are those involving non-penetrative sexual activity, while category C images are indecent images that do not fall into A or B.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), ‘making’ an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts.

Huw Edwards shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II during a royal visit to BBC Studios in London in June 2013. He enjoyed a glittering career until the scandal came to light

Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine (Edwards is seen leaving court)

It can range from opening an attachment to an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic ‘pop-up’ mechanism.

In the case of Edwards, he received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation.

Speaking in Edwards’ defence, his barrister Philip Evans KC has said that his client had not ‘created’ the images ‘in the traditional sense of the word’.

The maximum prison sentence for making an indecent image of a child is 10 years.

Sentencing guidelines set the starting point for any jail term for possession of a category A image at 12 months, with a range of 26 weeks to three years.

The starting point is 26 weeks for a category B image, and a community order for category C.

A number of potential defences to the charge exist, including not seeing the images and having no reason to believe that the images were indecent, having a legitimate reason to possess the images, or if the images were unsolicited and not kept for an unreasonable amount of time.

Edwards made his way through the media melee before being driven away from court

Aggravating features to be taken into account for Edwards include that the images included moving images, and the young age of the child thought to be seven to nine years old in two of the category A images.

Mitigating factors are Edwards’ early guilty plea, his previous good character, his mental health issues, and his remorse.

During his four decades at the corporation, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams leading coverage of historic events including the late Queen’s funeral in 2022 and most recently the coronation of the King in May 2023.

Edwards also announced the late Queen’s death on the BBC in September 2022.

The former presenter was seen for the last time on the BBC as he covered King Charles’ visit to Scotland on July 5 2023, two days before The Sun’s article about the ‘unnamed presenter’ scandal was published