Huw Edwards, formerly the BBC’s most senior news presenter, has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He admitted the offences during a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday.
The former newsreader was arrested last November and charged last month. The charges pertain to 41 images shared on a WhatsApp chat between 2020 and 2022. Edwards faced charges for possessing six category A images, the most serious classification of indecent images, on a phone. He was also accused of possessing 12 category B pictures and 19 category C photographs.
The Metropolitan Police stated that these allegations were separate from other widely reported and investigated claims from last year. “These allegations did not form part of the matter which was considered by police in July 2023. They were investigated separately as a standalone case,” a police spokesperson explained.
Mr Edwards left the BBC in April. He was previously the corporation’s most high-profile and best-paid news anchor, one of the main presenters on BBC One’s Ten O’Clock News, and was often chosen to lead coverage of major national events.
