Ex-BBC host gets suspended sentence for indecent images

Huw Edwards, the long-time face of the BBC's flagship news show, was given a suspended sentence on Monday after admitting to making indecent images of children.

Edwards, 63, pleaded guilty in July to three indecency charges. The charges were related to 41 illegal images he was sent via WhatsApp, which included two sexual abuse videos of a child between the ages of seven and nine years old. Edwards was not accused of having made the material.

Judge Paul Goldspring gave Edwards a six-month jail sentence that is suspended for two years, meaning he will only go to prison if he commits another crime in that time.

"It is not an exaggeration to say your long-earned reputation is in tatters," Goldspring said.

Outcry over salary payments

Following the revelations about Edwards, there was an outcry against the BBC when it became clear that they had continued to receive his 200,000 pound ($263,000) salary for five months after being arrested in November 2023.

The BBC is largely funded by taxpayers. It has asked Edwards to return those payments.

He had been one of the broadcaster's top earners when he was first placed on leave in July of that year, over allegations he had paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. Authorities did not end up bringing charges related to that accusation.

es/jcg (AP, Reuters)