BBC begins deleting Huw Edwards from archive after guilty plea

The young person at the centre of the original allegations about Huw Edwards has called for Tim Davie to resign over his handling of the presenter’s scandal

The BBC has begun wiping archive footage of former broadcaster Huw Edwards, who pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children earlier this week, according to reports.

Edwards’ image and voice are being removed, starting with family and entertainment content on iPlayer, the Observer reported.

Until last year, Edwards was one of the main presenters on BBC One’s News at Ten and often fronted coverage of major national events, including the Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

“As you would expect we are actively considering the availability of our archive,” a BBC spokesperson said.

“While we don’t routinely delete content from the BBC archive as it is a matter of historical record, we do consider the continued use and re-use of material on a case-by-case basis.”

The statement comes after Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The court heard the 62-year-old had been involved in online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The bulk of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period.

The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C.

Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy.

Edwards was bailed and will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 16.

It comes after BBC boss Tim Davie defended his decision to not fire Edwards despite knowing he had been arrested in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children.

In an interview with BBC News, the corporation’s director-general was questioned on why he continued to employ the veteran broadcaster until April, when Edwards resigned on medical advice.

“We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences,” Davie admitted.

“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.”

The young person at the centre of the original allegations about Edwards has since called for Davie to resign.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror, the then-teenager who was paid £35,000 by Edwards it is “unbelievable” the 62 year old remained on the BBC’s payroll.