Disgraced ex-BBC newsreader Huw Edwards urged to return his salary

The Culture Secretary has urged disgraced former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards to “return his salary” after admitting to having indecent images of children.

Lisa Nandy asked the BBC to look into whether it can recoup an estimated £200,000, which Edwards earned in the period from his arrest in November until he resigned five months later.

Edwards earlier in the week admitted making indecent photographs, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type, and the BBC acknowledged it was aware of his arrest at the time.

Ms Nandy told Sky News that she has asked to see the employment law advice given to the BBC, and called for the corporation’s director-general Tim Davie to address “outstanding issues”, and come back to her next week.

The minister also said of Edwards: “I think he ought to return his salary.

“I think having been arrested on such serious charges all the way back in November, to continue to receive that salary all the way through until he resigned is wrong and it’s not a good use of taxpayers’ money.

“I think most people in the country will agree with that but whether he does that or not is up to him.”

She added: “I’ve asked the BBC to look at what’s possible.”

Ms Nandy said she has “ongoing concerns”, that the BBC needs “futureproofing” so that whistleblowers are taken seriously and complaints are acted upon following her meeting with Mr Davie on Thursday.

The Culture Secretary told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Chiles On Friday programme that Mr Davie “recognised there is much more work to do”, and explained what types of questions the BBC needs to address.

She also said: “There are questions, though, that many people have asked about – whistleblowers for example – and whether those complaints were investigated at the time, whether that full investigation has been done, what has been learnt for the future.

“There are questions about the contractual arrangements that the BBC has and whether it’s appropriate if people are suspended, particularly once they’ve been arrested, to continue to receive not just full pay, but also to see an uplift in that pay and whether there is anything that can be done in this case and in the future.”

Two whistleblowers, one current and one former BBC worker, alleged that they received “inappropriate messages” from Edwards, and expressed disappointment on Thursday to BBC News that an internal inquiry into the former newsreader had not been made public.

Before Edwards resigned on medical advice in April, he was the broadcaster’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.

Mr Davie defended Edwards’ pay rise of £40,000 compared with 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999.

He told BBC News it was made up of an “inflationary increase”, and work the veteran broadcaster did at the corporation in February 2023 before any allegations were made.

Mr Davie said the corporation will “look at all options” in trying to reclaim pay from Edwards, but ruled out doing the same for his pension due to legal reasons.

Explaining the BBC’s decision not to go public with Edwards’ arrest, he said it was following police advice.

Mr Davie added: “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 BBC chief maintained that as Edwards remained suspended before his resignation in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors”, there were no issues relating to BBC employees’ safety.

While he knew the severity of the charges, Mr Davie said he was “very shocked”, and found the specific evidence against Edwards “deeply disturbing”.

If he had been charged while he was still an employee the BBC would have sacked him, the corporation previously said.

Last year, Edwards was named as the BBC presenter at the centre of allegations he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.

Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in this separate matter.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that Ms Nandy is “like the whole nation, shocked by Huw Edwards’ abhorrent actions, and her thoughts are with the victims whose lives have been destroyed”.

She added it is up to the “judiciary to decide on an appropriate sentence”.

Edwards looks set to be stripped of the honorary degree he received from York St John University in 2019.

A statement from the university said: “In light of the outcome of legal proceedings on Wednesday July 31 2024, our Honorary Awards Committee has begun the process to review Huw Edwards’ honorary degree with a recommendation that it is rescinded.”

Edwards will next appear in court on September 16.