The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has said the corporation will “look at all options” for recovering pay from the disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards.
Davie said the corporation was exploring the possibility of legal action to claw back some of its payments to Edwards, who continued to be paid for five months after his arrest. He admitted this week to accessing indecent images of children.
Before he resigned in April citing medical issues, Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999, according to the BBC’s latest annual report. He received a £40,000 pay rise in 2023-24. The public pays £169.50 a year for the BBC licence fee.
When asked about the 62-year-old keeping his pension, Davie told BBC News that the sums were “very difficult to claw back, nigh on impossible”. He added: “When it comes to pay, again, [it is] legally challenging, but we’ll look at all options.”
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, held crisis talks with BBC bosses on Thursday evening as Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled” by the scandal.
After Nandy’s meeting, a Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: “The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, but given the incredibly serious nature of this issue, the secretary of state has spoken to the BBC to raise concerns on a number of points regarding the handling of their own investigations into Huw Edwards, what safeguards and processes had been followed in this case, and additionally, what further action may be taken, especially with regard to the handling of licence-fee payers’ money.”
Edwards, who was previously the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader and the face of the News at 10 bulletin, admitted three charges of making indecent photographs. He was sent 41 illegal images by the convicted paedophile Alex Williams, seven of which were of the most serious type.
Edwards was arrested in November 2023 but that was not made public until he pleaded guilty this week. The corporation has said it knew of the newsreader’s arrest on “suspicion of serious offences” in November but continued employing him until April.
Asked if he was satisfied at the BBC’s handling of the crisis, the prime minister said: “In relation to Huw Edwards, I’m shocked and appalled, I’m sure as everybody is.”
BBC News reported that the corporation was told by police not to share details of Edwards’ arrest for child abuse image offences. The Metropolitan police has confirmed that it told the BBC in “strict confidence”.
The BBC has also said that if Edwards had been charged while he was employed by the corporation it would have sacked him.
Charlotte Rees-John, an employment law partner at legal firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “It would have been possible to dismiss Huw Edwards after he was arrested, but it is not without risk. I suspect this was considered but the safer approach was taken, which was to wait until charged. Suspension on full pay was then appropriate as was the pay rise if contractual.
“Many other organisations would have taken the risk to protect their reputation, but the BBC is under a greater level of scrutiny and they also had to consider that he was suffering with his mental health and as such at risk of serious harm.
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The scandal with Edwards comes after the crimes of Jimmy Savile, the TV star and serial sexual abuser who died in 2011 before his offences became public knowledge. It also comes weeks after the BBC delayed publishing a report on the conduct of the former Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood because of an continuing police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct going back four decades.
Westwood “strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour”. He has not been charged with a criminal offence.
At the time the annual report was published, Davie defended Edwards’ £40,000 pay rise, saying: “We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no one wants to waste a pound. But what you’re trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately.”
Edwards resigned from the BBC in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in relation to this matter.
Edwards will next appear in court on 16 September.