Disgraced BBC star Huw Edwards ‘refuses requests to return £200,000 he was paid after arrest’
The BBC chairman has made a personal plea.
BBC chairman, Samir Shah, has issued a personal plea to former presenter Huw Edwards to return the £200,000 he was paid after his arrest.
The 63-year-old disgraced TV star pled guilty to having indecent images of children, including those as young as seven, in July 2024.
It came after he admitted to three charges of making indecent photographs and received 41 illegal images from a convicted paedophile over WhatsApp.
After his court appearance, where he was spared jail with a six-month suspended prison term, the BBC demanded he repay five months’ worth of salary starting from November 2023 until his resignation in April, which totalled around £200,000.
Now, BBC chairman Dr Shah has reiterated calls for the money to be returned, even offering a personal request to the ex-high-profile newsreader.
‘Frankly, if Huw is listening to this: Give it back Huw, just give it back. Really, just give it back. You know you should and you should do it,’ Dr Shah, who has been BBC chairman since March 2024, told Times Radio.
Dr Shah added that the BBC is seeking ‘legal advice’ to gain the money back (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)He added: ‘We’ve been asking him and asking him and asking him. We’re getting legal advice on it.’
It is the latest request from the BBC to see the money returned.
In August 2024, the BBC Board said: ‘Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime. Had he been up front when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money.’
‘He has clearly undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute.’
It was a sentiment echoed by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, who told Sky News it’s ‘wrong’ for him to keep that portion of the salary and ‘not a good use of taxpayers’ money’.
The disgraced presenter was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence and placed on the sex offenders register for seven years (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock)BBC director-general Tim Davie explained to Amol Rajan that the BBC’s current policy indicates someone should be ‘paid until charged’, which is why Edwards received his salary after his November arrest.
‘We want the money back and we’ve asked for it back, and we’re waiting to hear back,’ Davie then added.
Edwards had been on screens for 40 years and rose to become the highest-paid presenter on the channel with his 2023/2024 pay bracket of £475,000 to £479,999.
Last week, an independent review ordered after the Edwards’ scandal found that ‘a minority of people who behave unacceptably and whose behaviour is not addressed’.
And ‘often in positions where power could be abused.’
Public figures like Tim Davie and Lisa Nandy have joined public calls for Edwards to return his salary (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)Reflecting on the report findings, Dr Shah warned that ‘nobody in the BBC is irreplaceable’ and added: ‘One of the best recommendations — there are many good actions — one of them was to have a succession plan in place.
‘There’s always a number two. So if they go, fine, we’ve got somebody else in place to replace them.’
An insider added: ‘It is ludicrous for the BBC to expect Edwards to pay back the money. They are asking a man whose fall from grace is total – there is no way back for him to public life, so what incentive is there for him to return the money? Good luck appealing to his conscience,’ per the Times.
An independent report commissioned after the Edwards’ scandal was recently published (Picture: BBC)In September, Dr Shah was questioned before the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee, where he recalled the ‘shock’ at what Edwards had been charged with.
He continued: ‘He had led this double life. On the face of it, a trusted news presenter, but hidden, secretly, he was this figure who did the most appalling things. I mean, let’s never forget the victims.’
The child abuse materials that were sent to the ex-presenter by 25-year-old convicted paedophile Alex Williams included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C.
The estimated age of most of the Category A children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.
His sentence also included 25 ‘rehabilitation sessions’, sex offender treatment for 40 days, and seven years on the sex offenders register. As well as £3,000 in prosecution costs.
Metro has reached out to Edwards’ lawyer for comment.
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