Huw Edwards named as BBC presenter at centre of allegations

Huw Edwards has been named by his wife, Vicky Flind, as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

In a statement to the PA news agency, Flind said her husband was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is “receiving inpatient hospital care, where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.

Flind said: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family. I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.

“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.

“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.

“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published. To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.

“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”

Updated at 14.57 EDT

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A summary of today’s developments

• Huw Edwards has been named by his wife as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

• Edwards’s wife, Vicky Flind, issued a statement on his behalf on Wednesday, disclosing her husband was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and “receiving inpatient hospital care, where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.

• Earlier, detectives from the Met police ended their assessment into the original allegations and determined there was no evidence of a criminal offence. South Wales Police also said no further action would be taken.

• The BBC said it is resuming its investigation while “continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved”.

• The BBC is facing further allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Edwards towards more junior staff including suggestive messages referencing their appearance.

Updated at 18.24 EDT

Here is some of Thursday’s front pages starting with the Mirror.

Vicky Flind, the TV producer wife of Huw Edwards has not been involved in editing tonight’s Peston ITV politics show, however Robert Peston told viewers she would want everyone “to get on with the show”.

The ITV News political editor echoed comments made by MP Jess Phillips that Vicky Flind is the “nicest, kindest and most decent woman”.

He told viewers she is the editor of the channel’s flagship political programme but “hasn’t been involved tonight or at all this week”.

Peston said it had been “difficult to feel what she and her family have been going through”, but added he wasn’t looking to “minimise complaints” against the presenter.

“At this point Vicky would tell me to get on with the show, so we will,” he said.

This was what I say at the start of #Peston tonight. It’s on ITV at 10.45.

As a journalist I have spent more or less my entire career weighing up stories by whether they are truly in the public interest or just interesting to the public. This has been on my mind a lot,…

— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 12, 2023

Updated at 18.06 EDT

Jackie Hayes, board director for Hacked Off, told BBC Newsnight she is “profoundly depressed by the unashamed abuse of power by the Sun” and “urgent answers needed” from the newspaper.

Adam Boulton, former political editor of Sky News and a friend of Edwards, said the BBC needs to hold Edwards to account.

He acknowledged though it is a “sad state of affairs,” he does not believe that The Sun should not have published its original story.

He said it would be wrong if it the report was untrue but said there has so far been no “specific denial”.

“At the moment it looks like it’s in the legitimate public interest,” Boulton told Sky News.

He added: “Those on television who hold others to account for their behaviour have to be prepared to be held to account.”

Jim Waterson

One of the Sun’s arguments is that it did not initially suggest Huw Edwards engaged in illegal behaviour – and that it was actually other outlets that did.

One problem for the Sun is that it did later run an article suggesting Edwards “could face criminal charges and years behind bars”.

The piece was written by Scarlet Howes, the same Sun reporter who broke the initial story, based on quotes in the Times.

The juxtaposition was seized on by Hacked Off, the group that campaigns for press regulation.

The Sun’s reporting on Edwards is increasingly part of a wider debate about tabloid excess, with Labour currently developing its policies on press regulation in the expectation the party enters government next year.

Updated at 17.51 EDT

The BBC should be given space to conduct an investigation into the allegations faced by newsreader Huw Edwards, a government minister said.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, told Sky News: “I think the right thing to do is to allow the BBC to conduct whatever investigation they feel they need to do and to make sure that the family are not dragged into this.

“After all, there’s one person who’s been alleged to have done wrong, not his whole family.”

Asked about the BBC’s handling of the controversy, he said: “I have very partial information and I don’t want to rush to judgment when actually these are serious allegations.

“And the correct thing to do is to find out what actually happened before casting aspersions on anyone.”

Updated at 17.47 EDT

A former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, has criticised the newspaper’s coverage and said he wishes Huw Edwards well.

“The Sun inflicted terror on Huw despite no evidence of any criminal offence,” he wrote on Twitter.

I wish @thehuwedwards well. The Sun inflicted terror on Huw despite no evidence of any criminal offence. This is no longer a BBC crisis, it is a crisis for the paper. Huw’s privacy must now be respected. Social media also needs speedy reform.

— David Yelland (@davidyelland) July 12, 2023

The Sun newspaper issued a statement this evening defending its coverage and stating it will cooperate with the BBC’s internal investigation process.

Updated at 17.25 EDT

Earlier, we blogged that BBC News reported new claims that Edwards is alleged to have sent messages to three colleagues which left them feeling uncomfortable, with one of the individuals alleging that “inappropriate and suggestive messages were sent”.

BBC Newsnight has also spoken to one current and one former BBC worker who alleged they received inappropriate messages from Edwards, some late at night and signed off with kisses.

The BBC said: “We always treat the concerns of staff with care, and would urge anyone to speak to us if they have any concerns. We have clear processes for making complaints.”

Updated at 17.25 EDT

Dan Walker, the former host of BBC Breakfast, has called the development an “awful situation”, and said he hopes people “on all sides [get the] time, space and support they need”.

This is an awful situation & will come as a big shock to many.

Huw Edwards is clearly not in a good place at the moment and this must be terrible for his family.

I just hope that whoever needs help – on all sides of this – gets the time, space & support they need to heal.

— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) July 12, 2023
Jim Waterson

The Sun has faced many major controversies in its time. The tabloid’s reporting on Huw Edwards could soon be added to that list.

Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper is facing serious questions over its reporting and ethical standards, after it alleged Edwards paid a 17-year-old for explicit images – only for police to conclude there was no evidence to support this allegation of serious criminal wrongdoing.

Days later, his wife said Edwards is in a hospital dealing with “serious mental health issues” and the newspaper is rapidly backtracking on its original story. Extraordinarily, on Wednesday night the Sun insisted its initial claim that the presenter had given a young person “more than £35,000 since they were 17 in return for sordid images” was not a suggestion of criminal activity.

From hosting the nightly news to announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Huw Edwards is the presenter the nation turns to when crisis strikes, write Rachel Hall and Matthew Weaver.

But now the nation is consumed by a crisis of his own, after he was named by his wife as the man at the centre of a media scandal. Media reports of a BBC presenter spending £35,000 on explicit photographs from a young person, which first emerged on Friday, had led to a frenzy of speculation on social media.

Updated at 16.06 EDT

Here is the full statement from Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, to staff.

“I wanted to write following this evening’s statements from the family of Huw Edwards and the police.

“Many of you will have read the words of Vicky Flind, Huw’s wife. It is a reminder that the last few days have seen personal lives played out in public. At the heart of this are people and their families.

“This will no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days. I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.

“Also this afternoon, the Metropolitan police and South Wales police confirmed they would be taking no further action following an assessment of information provided to them.

“As you know, we were asked to pause our fact-finding investigations until that assessment had been concluded. It is important we now continue with this work. I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.

“This remains a very complex set of circumstances. As we have done throughout, our aim must be to navigate through this with care and consideration, in line with the BBC values.”

Updated at 15.48 EDT

The spokespersons for the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, have today both refused to comment, saying it was a matter for the BBC.

On Saturday Frazer did comment, saying she had spoken to the BBC director general, Tim Davie, about the “deeply concerning allegations”.

Updated at 15.47 EDT

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More than 1,000 people filled Washburn’s Lee Arena, 1901 S.W. Mulvane St., on Monday for Topeka JUMP’s annual Nehemiah Action Assembly.

Topeka JUMP leaders in their annual Nehemiah action assembly on Monday had a big ask of community mental health experts. They walked away with a plan.

JUMP organizers asked Valeo Behavioral Health Care to expand its mental health crisis services, while also urging the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services to fund the proposed expansion.

Bill Persinger, CEO of Valeo Behavioral Health, gave his word the organization would bring critical mental health beds to Shawnee County, while Andy Brown, commissioner of Behavioral Health Services at KDADS, committed up to $3 million to support the effort.

The organization said it hoped to have more than 1,000 people in attendance, and it appeared to hit that number based on the number of people covering the floor and filling the stands.

Anton Ahrens, co-chair of Topeka JUMP, said the group is only scratching the surface of the work that needs to be done.

“We’ll be one of the first counties in Kansas to have these critical mental health beds for people in crisis,” Ahrens said. “We need them. Everyone in Topeka sees the results of people who have really severe mental health needs that aren’t being met.”

More: Jefferson County faces budget challenge after OKing $7.5M payment to Floyd Bledsoe

Change called on predatory lending, affordable housing and mental health

Bill Persinger, left, CEO of Valeo Behavioral Health and Andy Brown, right, commissioner of Behavioral Health Services at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Service, committed Monday to increase access to mental health care in Topeka.

Persinger said the special project funding for crisis intervention center beds would allow for increased access to crisis care and follow-up care with patients.

“A place where people can stay for a few days, get back on their feet, get back home and to work while trying to avoid going to a state hospital — those are going to become a reality here in Topeka,” Persinger told The Capital-Journal. “It’s probably going to take a year or a year and a half. There’s work to be done, remodels, proposals to look at.”

Topeka JUMP leaders also focused on predatory lending, affordable housing and reducing violence in the city.

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Last year, the group walked away with a commitment from the deputy mayor to find a way to put $1 million in the Housing Trust Fund. Last month, Topeka City Council members voted to allocate an additional $256,261 to the fund, bringing it up to its $1 million goal.

More: Kansas state workers will get a raise — but the amount will vary. Here’s how it will work.

Pastor Annie Ricker, of Berryton United Methodist Church, said Topeka JUMP won’t give up on payday loan reforms.

“They want Kansas to ignore this problem,” Ricker said. “We won’t. We will not allow them to prey on Kansans anymore.”

JUMP leaders said payday lenders in Kansas charge an average of 391% APR interest rates for a short-term payday loan. So instead of providing help in financial emergency, payday loans trap people into debt.

Their goal is to get legislation passed in the Kansas Legislature that includes reforms of a reasonable cap on APR interest rates, a required option for installment repayments and limited initial fees.

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka JUMP gets commitment for mental health crisis beds at Valeo

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