BBC asks Huw Edwards to return the salary he was paid after his arrest

The BBC has asked Huw Edwards to return the salary he was paid during the period following his arrest in November last year, after his guilty plea to charges of having indecent images of children.

It comes after the Culture Secretary had urged the disgraced newsreader to “return his salary”, while she also asked the BBC to look into whether it can recoup an estimated £200,000 paid to Edwards between his arrest and resignation.

A statement from the corporation said if Edwards had “been up front when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money” and added he had “undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute”.

The corporation was informed that Edwards had been arrested in November 2023 but continued to employ the veteran broadcaster until April, when Edwards resigned on medical advice.

The BBC veteran pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children on July 31, with the court hearing he had been involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The BBC statement said: “There is nothing more important than the public’s trust in the BBC; the BBC board is the custodian of that trust.

“The board has met a number of times over the last week to review information provided by the executive relating to Huw Edwards. The board’s focus has been principally around two issues.

“Firstly, what was known in the lead up to Mr Edwards being charged and pleading guilty last Wednesday to making indecent images of children; and, secondly, the specifics of the BBC’s handling of the complaints and the BBC’s own investigations into Mr Edwards, prior to his resignation on April 22 2024”.

The statement added: “Today, the board has authorised the executive to seek the return of salary paid to Mr Edwards from the time he was arrested in November last year. Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime.”

It continued: “Whilst the nature of the charges against Mr Edwards is related to his own personal life, the board believes these events have also put a spotlight on the question of power imbalances in the workplace.

“We remain concerned about the potential for inappropriate workplace behaviour, particularly in creative and editorial environments.

“Whilst challenges related to power imbalances in the workplace are a challenge for multiple employers, the BBC must hold itself to the highest standards.”

It also announced the board has commissioned an independent review that will “make recommendations on practical steps that could strengthen a workplace culture in line with BBC values” and said the corporation will set out terms of reference and leadership of this review in early September.

In response, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Public trust in the BBC is essential, and so I welcome the BBC’s decision to launch an independent review into the culture within the organisation following the Huw Edwards case and his abhorrent actions.

“The BBC is a hugely valued and important player in the public service broadcasting landscape that reaches millions every day and it is vital that the public has complete trust and faith in the organisation and in how it is run.

“BBC staff must be able to feel safe in the workplace and be confident that if non-editorial complaints are raised they will be acted upon and dealt with fairly and decisively.

“The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government, however I have spoken to the BBC chair in the past week to convey these points in the interests of the public.”

Before Edwards resigned, he was the broadcaster’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023-24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.

It marked a £40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and £439,999.

The BBC previously said after Edwards’ guilty plea that if he had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge he no longer worked for the corporation.

The chairwoman for the House of Lords communications and digital committee told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme if “Edwards has any conscience, whatsoever, he’ll pay back what has been asked for”.

Baroness Tina Stowell said she was “pleased” by the result and the peer added: “What is disappointing, of course, is that we are in this situation at all.

“It was something, which we’re now in a place where the extent to what they can do is rather meekly ask for him to pay the money back.”

She added that she “personally would have liked to have seen a bit more information in this statement as to the extent to which was weighed up, and how they weighed up the various different factors at the time of Huw Edwards’ arrest”, and hopes the BBC’s chairman will explain more at a later point.