Huw Edwards has been named as the presenter suspended by the BBC and accused of paying for explicit images. 

Edwards, 61, was identified as the unnamed presenter and has been accused of allegedly paying a total of £35,000 for sexual content.  

The newsreader is best known for presenting the BBC News at 10 as well the broadcaster’s major events including the Queen’s death and the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. 

Edwards, who was unnamed at the time, was suspended on Sunday, July 9 following an exclusive article in The Sun. 

The family of the young person made a complaint to the BBC on May 19 and the broadcaster has said that it became aware of new allegations of a different nature on July 6. 

Huw Edwards' wife shares statement

Vicky Flind has shared a statement on behalf of her husband Huw Edwards.

In her statement, Vicky Flind said her husband Huw Edwards was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.

Huw Edwards has not, so far, resigned from the BBC.

Met Police says no criminal offence has been committed

The Metropolitan Police has said no criminal offence has been committed by Huw Edwards facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

Following the decision from the Met Police, a spokesperson for the BBC, said: “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.

“The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”

In a statement on Sunday, the BBC has “robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations”. 

“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps”, the corporation added. 

“It is important that these matters are handled fairly and with care. 

“We have been clear that if – at any point – new information comes to light or is provided to us, this will be acted upon appropriately and actively followed up.” 

The payments from the BBC News presenter to the young person allegedly began in 2020 and the young person’s mother became aware of the phone after seeing a picture of the presenter on her child’s phone “sitting on a sofa in his house in his underwear”. 

The mother said she was told it was “a picture from some kind of video call” and looked like he was “getting ready for my child to perform for him”. 

The Sun also reported the presenter allegedly made two calls to the young person and asked them to call their mother to “stop the investigation” after the Sun exclusive was published. 

Following the article’s publication, major names in the organisation like Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell publicly cleared their names of any involvement. 

The BBC also confirmed on Sunday that the organisation had contacted Metropolitan Police over the allegations. 

In a statement on Sunday evening, the Metropolitan Police said: “The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made.” 

The broadcaster was reported to have met with the Met Police on Monday, July 10.