BBC presenter Huw Edwards suspended over paying for sexual pics.

[brogdale]

Will this change? Do they have an option for suspended without pay? Or should this be gross misconduct (?) at the point the person is charged?

At risk of coming across as loon-adjacent, I would say that, on it's own, Edwards' pay-rise whilst suspended snaffles up my 90 year old Mum's TV licence fee and 235 other old folks who really shouldn't be paying for it.

 

[elbows]

Edwards was suspended in July last year. In August, he received a £40,000 pay rise. In November, the BBC was made aware that he’d been charged with possession of child sexual abuse images. He remained on the BBC payroll on full pay until he resigned in April

Huw Edwards arrest known by BBC five months before resignation, corporation says

Convicted paedophile Alex Williams shared 41 illegal images with Edwards between December 2020 and August 2021.

www.upday.com

He wasnt charged in November. November is when the BBC were told he had been arrested, not charged. By the time he was charged quite a long time had passed (I believe it was late June this year), and he was no longer an employee.

It said it had been "made aware in confidence" in November 2023 that Edwards "had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation".

"At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health," the statement continued.

The corporation noted: "If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC."

BBC knew Huw Edwards had been arrested in November

It said the presenter would have been dismissed had he been charged while still employed by the corporation.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[trashpony]

He wasnt charged in November. November is when the BBC were told he had been arrested, not charged. By the time he was charged quite a long time had passed (I believe it was late June this year), and he was no longer an employee.

BBC knew Huw Edwards had been arrested in November

It said the presenter would have been dismissed had he been charged while still employed by the corporation.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sorry, you’re right. He was arrested for an entirely new set of nonce related offences to the ones he’d been suspended for in June. But he was a) given a pay rise despite being suspended and b) kept on full pay despite being arrested.

I’m no longer going to pay my licence fee. I’m sickened by all this shit.

 

[TopCat]

BBC and other institutions of power disproportionately riddled with nonces is a conspiracy theory that pre dates Q bollocks.

Eg when you work for the state or a state sponsored agencies you are hooked up with noncery so that the state can then blackmail you against speaking the truth. Hence so many people in the know of conspiracies will keep their mouths shut.

Of course this lets abusers off the hook and distracts from the real issues, and as such is politically dangerous, but that's loonery.

You are reporting the theory wrong. It goes that people who have nonce secrets and predilections are noticed and promoted into positions because at any time when they show autonomy they can bring out the history.

 

[TopCat]

David Bowie, on the other hand.

Still not a good idea to put that forward on urban.
Too revered.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Humans still have to validate the images.

I’m guessing better to have to validate a small selection of images than plough through thousands and thousands

I’m not a fan of the police but I wouldn’t wish that job on anyone..incredibly that AI may have tangible positive role

 

[kenny g]

I’m no longer going to pay my licence fee. I’m sickened by all this shit.

I stopped paying mine in 2008 when the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross abusive call to Andrew Sax was broadcast. Nothing that has happened since then has made me doubt my decision. They can throw some relative pennies towards worthy areas of some quality such as the BBC Nature unit but that doesn't absolve the BBC for Brand, Ross, Savile and Edwards. It is an anachronistic organisation run on feudal lines with a feudal funding model.

 

[kenny g]

There was a culture in the 60s and 70s music industry which tolerated grooming and sex with teenage girls, which indirectly led to the national light entertainment monolith ending up with the likes of Savile and Peel on its payroll. Doesn’t mean that the BBC has any particular case to answer today. And there’s no link between this most recent offence and Edwards’ BBC day job.

Just a few bad apples??

 

[krtek a houby]

Just a few bad apples??

Like most organisations. As mentioned previously. That's not to say offenders should be condoned or covered up.

 

[Pickman's model]

Like most organisations. As mentioned previously. That's not to say offenders should be condoned or covered up.

i hope you're not suggesting offenders be allowed to bare all

 

[barlimo]

Nice pension:

Huw Edwards set for £4m pension despite guilty plea over indecent child images

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards entered a guilty plea when he attended Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday

www.express.co.uk

 

[Pickman's model]

Nice pension:

Huw Edwards set for £4m pension despite guilty plea over indecent child images

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards entered a guilty plea when he attended Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday

www.express.co.uk

shit link

 

[krtek a houby]

i hope you're not suggesting offenders be allowed to bare all

Joking aside, it would be interesting (from an understanding and rehabilitative angle) if there were honest testimonies from offenders as to what drove them and compels them.

Something that could be of use in preventing further abuse and exploitation of young people.

 

[krtek a houby]

shit link

shit poster

 

[barlimo]

shit link

Works for me!

 

[elbows]

Sorry, you’re right. He was arrested for an entirely new set of nonce related offences to the ones he’d been suspended for in June. But he was a) given a pay rise despite being suspended and b) kept on full pay despite being arrested.

I’m no longer going to pay my licence fee. I’m sickened by all this shit.

I see they are under all sorts of pressure for various aspects of their decision making today.

And because even yesterdays statement used vaguer language about 'serious offences', pressure means they've now had to clarify what they knew in November:

The BBC was told Huw Edwards was under suspicion of child abuse image offences in November 2023.

The corporation’s statement on Wednesday afternoon only referred to the organisation being told of “serious offences”.

But the BBC has now confirmed the Met informed them its investigation concerned child abuse images.

Thats from the 10:58 entry of their own rolling news updates about this shit. Huw Edwards latest: BBC facing questions over handling of former presenter

 

[bemused]

In a world of free unlimited porn I'm still bemused why people would pay for this stuff, although he seems to have been exchanging pictures of children - hope they put him in jail.

 

[skyscraper101]

It's really weird because he's been so omnipresent for years. On the surface, a likeable good humored, news anchor. I followed him on instagram for ages and he just seemed so normal, like Clive Myrie or Krishnan Guru Murphy. I mean, when it all came out about Saville or Glitter that was totally different because we all knew they were weird, but Edwards? The main man on bbc news for years? Nah. Shows how wrong you can be.

Even seeing him yesterday walking to court just felt so wrong. Looks wise he seemed no different, other than the sunglasses ofc.

 

[barlimo]

In a world of free unlimited porn I'm still bemused why people would pay for this stuff, although he seems to have been exchanging pictures of children - hope they put him in jail.

It's really weird because he's been so omni-present for years. On the surface, a likeable good humored, news anchor. I followed him on instagram for ages and he just seemed so normal, like Clive Myrie or Krishnan Guru Murphy. I mean, when it all came about about Saville or Glitter that was totally different because we all knew they were weird so it wasn't a huge leap to think they were kiddy fiddlers but Edwards? The main man on bbc news for years? Nah. Shows how wrong you can be.

Even seeing him yesterday walking to court just felt so wrong. Looks wise he seemed no different, other than the sunglasses ofc.

Though he had some revolting images of children there was no question of kiddy fiddleing.

 

[og ogilby]

It's really weird because he's been so omnipresent for years.

He won't be able to go out of the house now because he's so well known there's nowhere he won't be instantly recognised and probably assaulted.

 

[skyscraper101]

Though he had some revolting images of children there was no question of kiddy fiddleing.

yeah, you're right - I already edited that when I re-read it.

 

[VivaE]

I stopped paying mine in 2008 when the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross abusive call to Andrew Sax was broadcast. Nothing that has happened since then has made me doubt my decision. They can throw some relative pennies towards worthy areas of some quality such as the BBC Nature unit but that doesn't absolve the BBC for Brand, Ross, Savile and Edwards. It is an anachronistic organisation run on feudal lines with a feudal funding model.

^ That still absolutely disgusts me, particularly Ross getting off so lightly.

 

[maomao]

Though he had some revolting images of children there was no question of kiddy fiddleing.

Possession of child sexual abuse images is treated severely because it is complicity in child rape.

 

[bemused]

Possession of child sexual abuse images is treated severely because it is complicity in child rape.

Indeed.

 

[trashpony]

He won't be able to go out of the house now because he's so well known there's nowhere he won't be instantly recognised and probably assaulted.

Let’s hope because the courts won’t give justice to the children who have been raped and sexually assaulted for men like Edwards to watch.

Just a note on the ‘men like him are present in all large organisations’ point. In most organisations, there is not a culture where ‘the talent’ are treated like gods and there’s a mass cover up of their sordid secrets. It’s not confined to the BBC - ITV knew full well that Schofield had a predilection for very young men and turned a blind eye.

It’s a toxic culture.

 

[AverageJoe]

^ That still absolutely disgusts me, particularly Ross getting off so lightly.

I used to know G quite well. She drank in the Intrepid Fox in London.

She was always a bit of a Wild Child but she went properly off the rails after that.

She's now cleaned up and is an artist and fair play and good luck to her.

 

[VivaE]

Joking aside, it would be interesting (from an understanding and rehabilitative angle) if there were honest testimonies from offenders as to what drove them and compels them.

Something that could be of use in preventing further abuse and exploitation of young people.

Agree. Chucking them all in the disgusted bin doesn't really move things forward in any useful way. This is not about defending them or making excuses for them, just trying to gain an understanding of what drives them.

 

[trashpony]

Agree. Chucking them all in the disgusted bin doesn't really move things forward in any useful way. This is not about defending them or making excuses for them, just trying to gain an understanding of what drives them.

According to this article, he was a bit bored of ordinary porn

We had an ordinary marriage. Then I found out my husband had been viewing images of child abuse

For Emily and her husband, Matthew, everything changed when the police knocked on the door at 6.20am one morning. Could their family survive?

www.theguardian.com

I find the self pity in this article disgusting to be honest

 

[Sue]

According to this article, he was a bit bored of ordinary porn

We had an ordinary marriage. Then I found out my husband had been viewing images of child abuse

For Emily and her husband, Matthew, everything changed when the police knocked on the door at 6.20am one morning. Could their family survive?

www.theguardian.com

I find the self pity in this article disgusting to be honest

Yes. I thought this bit was particularly bad:

"Then they made me tell my wife, which was a nice twist of the knife.'

Because it's all about poor him.

FWIW, I know someone something v similar happened to. She and her partner split up, she had to report it because she worked with children and she was massively concerned about their young daughter who was a similar age to the girls in the material he'd been looking at. (Thankfully he hadn't done anything to their daughter but my God, absolutely horrifying.)

 

[pug]

Reeled her back in with the whole suicide routine