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The London Victims’ Commissioner has called for it to be easier to appeal lenient sentences after it emerged the case of Huw Edwards cannot be reviewed.

The disgraced BBC veteran was spared jail on Monday for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven, with the judge handing down a six-month suspended term at Westminster Magistrates Court.

Senior political figures, including Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat, have written to the government’s chief legal adviser urging for a review of the case under the Unduly Lenient Scheme (ULS).

The ULS allows anyone to ask for certain sentences to be looked at by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), who will then refer it to the Court of Appeal if they think it is not tough enough.

However, the scheme only applies to Crown Court sentences – as pointed out by the Victims’ Commissioner for London Claire Waxman.

She said she has long called for this to be changed, so it is more accessible.

“For clarity, the Huw Edwards sentence cannot be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme as it’s only applicable for certain Crown Court sentences. I have lobbied for years to make it more accessible,” Ms Waxman said on X.

“Important to understand the rights of victims.”

According to the AGO, only certain cases heard at the Crown Court, which tries the most serious offences, can be reviewed under the ULS. This includes murder, rape, robbery, and some child sex crimes.

Ms Waxman, who has lobbied for victims to have the same rights as offenders when it comes to appealing sentences, was responding to a letter from Mr Tugendhat to the attorney general saying the Edwards case should be reviewed.

In further comments to Sky News, she said the ULS could be more accessible by being better communicated to victims.

She added: “It is an injustice to them that there is no route to appeal a sentence passed in the Magistrates court when offenders can appeal against their sentence and I am clear that this must be urgently reviewed.

“Together with the Josh Hanson Trust, I have long called for a change to the strict 28-day timeframe within which to make an application to the scheme. It’s simply not right that offenders are able to appeal their sentence outside of this timeframe in exceptional circumstances, but this same entitlement is not provided to victims.”

Mr Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, claimed the former presenter’s sentence appeared “inconsistent” with sentencing guidelines, which recommend custodial sentences for possession of Category A images.

He added that “as a national household name, the country have been shocked by the criminal activities of Mr Edwards”, and they will be looking at the government to “lead by example and ensure that heinous crimes are punished swiftly”.

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice made a similar appeal to the attorney general, saying that “serious crime must be punished with serious sentence”.

Read More:
What was Huw Edwards’ defence?
BBC asks Edwards to return £200,000

The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) also expressed concern about the fact Edwards was spared jail, saying it “sends a troubling message to both survivors of abuse and those who exploit children”.

However, legal commentator The Secret Barrister said in a thread on X that Edwards’ sentence was “entirely expected for offences of this type”.

They said the judge will have taken in mitigating factors such as mental health, his low risk of reoffending and his early guilty plea when deciding not to hand down a jail term.

Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children.

The court heard how he paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.

Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

As part of his sentence, the 63-year-old must attend a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

He is also required to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.

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BBC waiting for ‘Huw Edwards to return salary’

Delivering his sentence, the judge said Edwards would be “particularly vulnerable” if he was given a custodial sentence, both from attack from others and as a suicide risk.

Edwards’ barrister Philip Evans KC expressed remorse on behalf of the ex-presenter, saying he “recognises the repugnant nature and the hurt done to those who appear” in the images and “for his part in that he apologises sincerely and makes clear he has the utmost regret”.

He also said Edwards recognises he has “betrayed the priceless trust” placed in him, damaged his family and is “truly sorry he’s committed these offences”.

During his four decades at the BBC, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams covering historic events, with his most high-profile moment coming in September 2022, when he announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Roman Storm asks DeFi devs: Can you be sure DOJ won’t charge you?

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<div>Roman Storm asks DeFi devs: Can you be sure DOJ won't charge you?</div>

<div>Roman Storm asks DeFi devs: Can you be sure DOJ won't charge you?</div>

Current laws in the United States do not explicitly protect open source software developers and create the risk of retroactive prosecution.

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Stablecoins are really ‘central business digital currencies’ — VC

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<div>Stablecoins are really 'central business digital currencies' — VC</div>

<div>Stablecoins are really 'central business digital currencies' — VC</div>

Jeremy Kranz, founder of Sentinel Global, a venture capital firm, said investors should be “discerning” and read the fine print on any stablecoin.

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Labour deputy leadership candidate accuses opponent’s team of ‘throwing mud’ and briefing against her

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Labour deputy leadership candidate accuses opponent's team of 'throwing mud' and briefing against her

Lucy Powell has accused Bridget Phillipson’s team of “throwing mud” and briefing against her in the Labour deputy leadership race in a special episode of Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

With just days to go until the race is decided, Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby spoke to the two leadership rivals about allegations of leaks, questions of party unity and their political vision.

Ms Powell told Electoral Dysfunction that through the course of the contest, she had “never leaked or briefed”.

But she said of negative stories about her in the media: “I think some of these things have also come from my opponent’s team as well. And I think they need calling out.

“We are two strong women standing in this contest. We’ve both got different things to bring to the job. I’m not going to get into the business of smearing and briefing against Bridget.

“Having us airing our dirty washing, throwing mud – both in this campaign or indeed after this if I get elected as deputy leader – that is not the game that I’m in.”

Ms Powell was responding to a “Labour source” who told the New Statesman last week: “Lucy was sacked from cabinet because she couldn’t be trusted not to brief or leak.”

Ms Powell said she had spoken directly to Ms Phillipson about allegations of briefings “a little bit”.

Bridget Phillipson (l) and Lucy Powell (r) spoke to Sky News' Beth Rigby in a special Electoral Dysfunction double-header. Pics: Reuters
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Bridget Phillipson (l) and Lucy Powell (r) spoke to Sky News’ Beth Rigby in a special Electoral Dysfunction double-header. Pics: Reuters

Phillipson denies leaks

But asked separately if her team had briefed against Ms Powell, Ms Phillipson told Rigby: “Not to my knowledge.”

And Ms Phillipson said she had not spoken “directly” to her opponent about the claims of negative briefings, despite Ms Powell saying the pair had talked about it.

“I don’t know if there’s been any discussion between the teams,” she added.

On the race itself, the education secretary said it would be “destabilising” if Ms Powell is elected, as she is no longer in the cabinet.

“I think there is a risk that comes of airing too much disagreement in public at a time when we need to focus on taking the fight to our opponents.

“I know Lucy would reject that, but I think that is for me a key choice that members are facing.”

She added: “It’s about the principle of having that rule outside of government that risks being the problem. I think I’ll be able to get more done in government.”

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Insider vs outsider

But Ms Powell, who was recently sacked by Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Commons, said she could “provide a stronger, more independent voice”.

“The party is withering on the vine at the same time, and people have got big jobs in government to do.

“Politics is moving really, really fast. Government is very, very slow. And I think having a full-time political deputy leader right now is the political injection we need.”

The result of the contest will be announced on Saturday 25 October.

The deputy leader has the potential to be a powerful and influential figure as the link between members and the parliamentary Labour Party, and will have a key role in election campaigns. They can’t be sacked by Sir Keir as they have their own mandate.

The contest was triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner following a row over her tax affairs. She was also the deputy prime minister but this position was filled by David Lammy in a wider cabinet reshuffle.

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