LONDON: Former British TV presenter Huw Edwards, the long-time face of BBC‘s flagship news programme, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of making indecent pictures of children.
Edwards was BBC’s highest paid journalist and top anchor until he quit in April this year, following allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, something which is unconnected to the criminal charges.
The 62-year-old was a household name in Britain for more than two decades, announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth to the nation in 2022 and leading coverage of elections, royal weddings and the 2012 Olympics. But he has not been on TV screens for a year and Wednesday’s court appearance was his first in public since then.
BBC had said in a statement that it was shocked by Edwards’ actions.
Asked if he wished to indicate a plea to the three charges, which related to three different categories of indecent images, Edwards said: “Guilty.”
Judge Paul Goldspring said Edwards would be sentenced on Sept 16 and that “all options”, including an immediate prison sentence, would be considered. During the 25-minute hearing, prosecutor Ian Hope said Edwards had been sent a total of 377 sexually explicit images by an adult male on WhatsApp, 41 of which were indecent, illegal images of children.
Edwards was BBC’s highest paid journalist and top anchor until he quit in April this year, following allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, something which is unconnected to the criminal charges.
The 62-year-old was a household name in Britain for more than two decades, announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth to the nation in 2022 and leading coverage of elections, royal weddings and the 2012 Olympics. But he has not been on TV screens for a year and Wednesday’s court appearance was his first in public since then.
BBC had said in a statement that it was shocked by Edwards’ actions.
Asked if he wished to indicate a plea to the three charges, which related to three different categories of indecent images, Edwards said: “Guilty.”
Judge Paul Goldspring said Edwards would be sentenced on Sept 16 and that “all options”, including an immediate prison sentence, would be considered. During the 25-minute hearing, prosecutor Ian Hope said Edwards had been sent a total of 377 sexually explicit images by an adult male on WhatsApp, 41 of which were indecent, illegal images of children.
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