Huw Edwards scandal: BBC ‘in touch’ with family of person at centre of explicit photos allegations – corporation boss Tim Davie
BBC boss Tim Davie says the corporation has been in touch with the family of a person at the centre of allegations surrounding Huw Edwards.
Speaking at a pre-arranged Lords Communications Committee session on Tuesday, the director-general said: “We have been in touch with the complainant, we want to be engaged and appropriately listening and understanding their concern”.
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‘We have been in touch with the complainant,’ says BBC director-general
The BBC has faced accusations it did not respond quickly enough to complaints from the family of the young person, after it took seven weeks for allegations to be put to Huw Edwards.
Mr Davie was also asked about holding the BBC’s high-paid talent to account, responding: “I think the history of this industry is such that we should all be concerned and appropriately diligent around the abuse of people in powerful positions”.
He added: “You need to ensure that you’re very, very clear on what your expectations are culturally, as well as the policy.”
He went on to say he was “proud” of the corporation’s code of conduct and values, calling the whistleblowing process by which staff can confidentially report concerns to an external support at work line “a safe place”.
He also confirmed to peers that high-profile presenters at the corporation have a clause in their contract about not bringing the BBC into disrepute.
Edwards, who is the BBC’s highest-earning newsreader, was accused of paying a teenager thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos.
‘Very wrong directions’
Acting chairwoman of the BBC Dame Elan Closs Stephens told peers despite “huge pressure” to name the presenter at the heart of the scandal, the corporation “had a duty to act with some calm and rationality in the face of lack of rationality and lack of calm”.
She said that duty of care was both to Edwards, the young person and the young person’s family involved “in this maelstrom”.
She went on: “I was on the one hand seeking to establish the right of the board to oversee what was happening, but at the same time, I was trying my best to make for a calm and rational discussion of the issue before we all got carried away in what could have been very wrong directions.”
The family of the young person had originally complained to the BBC in May, but allegations were not put to the presenter, or flagged to senior executives – including Mr Davie – until seven weeks later.
Appeal for information
Mr Davie, along with Dame Elan and policy director Clare Sumner, faced questions about the “adequacy” of the corporation’s governance arrangements and were asked to give updates on the progress of two reports, following the controversy.
The BBC is carrying out “fact-finding investigations” into Edwards, as well as a review to “assess how some complaints are red flagged up the organisation”.
Elaborating on the BBC’s general complaints process, he said a serious allegation would be passed on to its corporate investigations team where it would be assessed by “very experienced people”, and that from there “it could lead to a fact-finding and disciplinary or it might go to the authorities, or it might be dropped”.
Read more:
Who is Huw Edwards?
Was The Sun right to publish allegations?
What friends and colleagues have said about Huw Edwards
BBC chiefs are finally talking – but still avoiding accountability
Essential oils perhaps? A cooling flannel to the forehead?
If Dame Elan Closs Stephens, acting chairwoman of the BBC, has any suggestions on how we journalists chill out, calm down, get a grip – which she clearly thinks we need to do – then please do pass them on.
In truth, I think I may need some tips on stress relief. The rare occasions when bosses at the corporation speak publicly about the Huw Edwards affair are starting to become an exercise in raising one’s blood pressure.
Director-general Tim Davie and Dame Elan fielding questions in parliament, a classic example of how
well-paid guardians of BBC yet again fail to see what the fuss is all about.
For clarity, accountability is an important pillar of the BBC. And yet top bosses seem to have an almost deluded approach to why we expect them to share what goes on behind the scenes.
Yes, finally, we have a few more answers about what’s now happening. Because of their duty of care to those involved, their fact-finding investigation could take weeks or months.
We now know that contractually high-profile presenters agree not to bring the corporation into disrepute.
That, finally, they’ve spoken with the original complainant and want to be “engaged and listening”. They’ve worked out how to make a phone call then?
Forgive the sarcasm, but when Dame Elan criticised the 40 journalists she spoke to on zoom for being so preoccupied by the scandal we failed to report on how well she and her team were handling events behind the scene, it somewhat took the biscuit.
Actually, I wasn’t rubbing my hands together with glee at reporting on the downfall of a well-respected news figure. More over I was contemplating bashing my head against a brick wall out of frustration over how impossible it is to get a straight answer out of the BBC.
For the record, Dame Elan, if you had “wished governance had been more to the fore but can’t dictate how it was reported…” all you had to do was come out and talk to us.
Don’t try to now sell the few brief words you gave to press at the start of a pre-arranged briefing on your annual report as you arranging a proper briefing on the matter, because it certainly wasn’t that.
You are tasked with protecting something precious. Journalists are tasked with making sure you’re doing your job. Accountability and openness is the least required of you.
When are reports due?
Addressing fact-finding probe into Edwards, Mr Davie highlighted the “difficult concerns” involved and appealed for anyone with information to get in touch, saying: “We’re keen to receive any information because we just want to understand anything that’s out there”.
Mr Davie said the report “could take weeks or it could take a couple of months, or even longer”.
With regard to the second review of the BBC’s protocols and procedures, Mr Davie said: “We are doing that work immediately,” adding that it would be delivered in “the autumn, maybe late autumn”.
It will be led by Simon Cuerden, a forensic partner at Deloitte and Sir Nick Serota, a senior independent director at the BBC.
Original allegations
Allegations that Edwards paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit photos were first published in The Sun on Friday 7 July. The paper did not name him at the time.
Five days later, the Metropolitan Police said they did not believe any criminal activity had taken place and would be taking no further action.
Following intense speculation over the identity of the BBC presenter, Edwards’ wife, Vicky Flind, confirmed him as the man at the centre of the allegations.
In a statement, she said he was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and was “receiving in-patient hospital care”.
The Sun – who say they never alleged criminality – say they have no plans to publish further allegations against Edwards.
The young person at the centre of the controversy has said – via their lawyer – that their mother’s claims are “rubbish,” and that “nothing inappropriate or unlawful” has taken place.
Edwards, who has since been suspended, is also facing separate allegations from several other people in their early 20s.
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At the weekend, Sir Tony Blair told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the BBC should “stand up for itself more” when asked about its response to the situation.
As the face of BBC News At 10, the 61-year-old has previously led election night coverage, and broke the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. He was last on air on Wednesday 5 July, covering the King’s visit to Scotland.
Some have questioned The Sun’s decision to publish the original story, and the balance between publishing in the public interest versus the right to privacy has been thrust firmly into the spotlight.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third was The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
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Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth, and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
A doctor who pleaded guilty to illegally supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the star’s death has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Salvador Plasencia, who operated an urgent-care clinic outside Los Angeles, is the first of five people to be sentenced in connection with the death of the Friends actor. Perry was found drowned in the hot tub at his home after taking ketamine in October 2023.
“You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction,” Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett told Plasencia as she handed down the sentence. “You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit.”
Matthew Perry died in 2023. Pic: Reuters
During the hearing, Plasencia broke into tears as he spoke about the day he would have to tell his now two-year-old son “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son”. Apologising directly to Perry’s family, he said: “I should have protected him.”
The doctor’s mother cried loudly in the courtroom as he was led out in handcuffs.
Ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s mother Suzanne Perry and stepfather Keith Morrison described those involved in supplying ketamine to the star illegally as “jackals”, and said they believed Plasencia to be “among the most culpable of all“.
The actor had been taking ketamine legally as a treatment for depression, but started seeking more of the drug and taking it unsupervised in the weeks before his death, acquiring it illegally from different sources.
Plasencia, 44, did not supply the dose that killed the actor, but had been distributing the surgical anesthetic to him in the weeks beforehand.
He initially denied the charges against him but changed his plea earlier this year, admitting four counts of distribution. He could have faced up to 40 years in prison had he been convicted at trial.
Plasencia was surrounded by photographers as he made his way into court. Pic: Reuters/ Mike Blake
Doctor ‘fed on vulnerability’
Court documents showed details of a text message Plasencia sent to another doctor, who is also due to be sentenced, saying: “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
“Rather than do what was best for Mr Perry – someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life – [Plasencia] sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” the prosecution said in its sentencing memo.
Known as “Dr P”, Plasencia was introduced to Perry by one of his own patients on 30 September 2023, prosecutors said. This patient said the actor was a “high profile person” who was willing to pay “cash and lots of thousands” for ketamine treatment, and the doctor was “motivated by the promise of a payday”.
Plasencia’s lawyers admitted his behaviour was “reckless” and said it was “the biggest mistake” of his life.
“Remorse cannot begin to capture the pain, regret and shame that Mr Plasencia feels for the tragedy that unfolded and that he failed to prevent,” they said.
Star’s family share emotional statements
Suzanne Perry and Keith Morrison were in court for the hearing. Pic: Reuters/ Mike Blake
During the hearing, Perry’s mother Suzanne addressed the court to talk about everything he had overcome in his life.
“I used to think he couldn’t die,” she said, supported by her husband.
“You called him a ‘moron’,” she said to Plasencia. “There is nothing moronic about that man.”
In victim impact statements submitted to court, she and her husband said Plasencia’s actions were not the result of “one very bad decision” or done “in the heat of passion”, and nor was he a “bad to the bone” drug dealer.
They added: “No one alive and in touch with the world at all could have been unaware of Matthew’s struggles. But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret. For what, a few thousand dollars? So he could feed on the vulnerability of our son.”
Perry appeared in Friends: The Reunion alongside his former co-stars in 2021. Pic: Sky/ Warner Media/ HBO
“The world mourns my brother,” Perry’s half-sister Madeleine Morrison said. “He was everyone’s favourite friend.”
Perry’s father John and stepmother Debbie had called for a lengthy sentence, and said Plasencia’s actions had “devastated” their family.
“How long did you possibly see supplying Matthew countless doses without his death to eventually follow?” they asked. “Did you care? Did you think?”
Read more:
The drug network exposed by Perry’s death
Obituary: The one who made everyone laugh
Matthew Perry: A life in pictures
As well as the prison sentence, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down two years of probation to Plasencia.
The other four people charged in connection with Perry’s death have also accepted plea deals and are due to be sentenced over the next few months.
They are: dealer Jasveen Sangha, also known as “the Ketamine Queen”, Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, another doctor, Mark Chavez, and Erik Fleming, an associate of the actor.
Tributes were left in LA and New York following the actor’s death. Pic: Reuters
Perry had struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation playing Chandler Bing.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons, from 1994 to 2004, and appeared in the reunion show in 2021.
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