Huw Edwards in hospital after being named as BBC presenter dealing with allegations
T
he spouse of newsreader Huw Edwards has mentioned he’s receiving in-patient hospital care as she named him because the BBC presenter dealing with allegations over funds for sexually express photographs.
Vicky Flind, mentioned her husband was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and was now receiving remedy in a press release issued on Wednesday night.
It comes because the Metropolitan Police mentioned no prison offence had been dedicated by Edwards and that no additional police motion could be taken “at this time”, permitting an inner BBC investigation to renew.
In a message to workers, seen by the PA news company, BBC director-general Tim Davie mentioned that the company’s “immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved”.
After Edwards was named because the presenter on the centre of the allegations, a number of BBC colleagues and high-profile media personalities spoke out to help him.
Meanwhile on Wednesday night, BBC Newsnight reported new claims from one present and one former BBC employee, who mentioned they’d acquired “inappropriate messages” from Edwards, “some late at night and signed off with kisses”.
Both mentioned there was “a reluctance among junior staff to complain to managers about the conduct of high-profile colleagues in case it adversely affected their careers,” Newsnight mentioned.
One former editor of The Sun mentioned the newspaper had “inflicted terror” on the newsreader “despite no evidence of any criminal offence” and now confronted “a crisis”.
David Yelland, who was in cost on the paper from 1998 to 2003, wrote on Twitter: “I wish @thehuwedwards well.
“The Sun inflicted terror on Huw despite no evidence of any criminal offence.
“This is no longer a BBC crisis, it is a crisis for the paper. Huw’s privacy must now be respected.
“Social media also needs speedy reform.”
The Sun, which first reported allegations towards the then-unnamed presenter final week claiming they’d paid a youngster tens of 1000’s of kilos for express photographs, mentioned it had no plans to publish additional allegations and would co-operate with the BBC’s inner investigation course of.
In his inner memo, Mr Davie mentioned the phrases from Ms Flind have been “a reminder that the last few days have seen personal lives played out in public”.
“At the heart of this are people and their families,” his message mentioned.
“This will no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days. I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.”
Mr Davie additionally referenced an earlier request from the Metropolitan Police asking the company to pause its inner investigation, saying: “It is important we now continue with this work.
“I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.”
The Metropolitan Police mentioned on Wednesday that no prison offence had been dedicated by the presenter, and that no particular particulars or details about additional allegations reported within the media had been supplied to them.
The Sun’s Wednesday entrance web page had run a narrative during which it claimed Edwards, who had not been recognized at that time, had additionally damaged lockdown guidelines throughout the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, to satisfy up with one other younger particular person.
The newspaper mentioned it has seen messages which counsel he had travelled to see the 23-year-old in February 2021, after assembly them on a courting web site the earlier November.
Father of 5 Edwards is the BBC’s highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000–£439,999, placing him fourth on the highest 10 listing, the company’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.
The presenter was final seen on BBC One’s News At Ten on July 5 when he co-presented a particular version dwell from Edinburgh because the King was honoured within the Scottish capital – and sources have made it clear to PA that Edwards, 61, has not resigned from the BBC.
The assertion from his spouse, a TV producer who has labored on BBC’s This Week politics present and Robert Peston’s ITV programme, Peston, to the PA news company mentioned: “Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues.
I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.
“As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.”
She mentioned that when the presenter, who has labored for the BBC for 4 many years, was properly sufficient, he “intends to respond to the stories that have been published” and added that her husband was first instructed there have been allegations “being made against him last Thursday”.
Ms Flind requested for privateness for the household and mentioned: “I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.
“We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
In a press release on Twitter, Peston praised Ms Flind as “the kindest and most decent woman”.
“It has been difficult to feel what she and her family have been going through – and to read her statement that Huw has been hospitalised with acute depression,” he mentioned.
Edwards has beforehand spoken about his psychological well being, revealing in a documentary in 2021 he had bouts of melancholy which have left him “bedridden” since 2002.