Huw Edwards: Was The Sun right to publish allegations about BBC presenter?

Published

2 years ago

July 13, 2023

admin

With Huw Edwards in hospital with “serious mental health issues” and facing no further action by police, the newspaper that broke the story is now under the spotlight.

The Sun is facing questions over its coverage of allegations against the 61-year-old newsreader – with some asking whether the claims should have been reported at all.

After Edwards’s wife Vicky Flind publicly named him and police said there was no evidence of criminal offences on Wednesday evening, the paper released its own statement, stating it had “no plans to publish further allegations”.

Huw Edwards latest: ‘Complicated’ Edwards ‘not impressed’ by BBC coverage

Described as a “very carefully crafted legal statement” by former Mirror editor Paul Connew, it said: “The Sun at no point in our original story alleged criminality and also took the decision neither to name Mr Edwards nor the young person involved in the allegations.”

The words are strictly true as there was no reference to any police involvement or allegations that a specific crime was committed when the story was broken in Saturday’s paper.

However, it did originally report that a “top BBC star is off air while allegations he paid a teenager for sexual pictures are being investigated”, “the well-known presenter is accused of giving the teen more than £35,000 since they were 17 in return for sordid images” and “sleazy messages are alleged to have started in 2020, when the youngster was 17”.

While the legal age of consent in the UK is 16, it is a crime to make or possess indecent images of anyone under 18, and the details prompted speculation from other news organisations about whether the allegations could amount to a potential crime.

The Sun correctly recognises this in its statement, which said: “Suggestions about possible criminality were first made at a later date by other media outlets, including the BBC.”

The Sun on Sunday carried a comment from former Home Secretary Priti Patel that the BBC “must cooperate with the police if they are contacted to investigate”.

A story on the paper’s website published the same day was headlined “BBC SEX PROBE Top BBC star who ‘paid child for sex pictures’ could be charged by cops and face years in prison, expert says”.

The piece reported comments made by former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal to the Times – which is owned by the same company as The Sun – that the presenter could potentially be charged with sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

By Monday, when the Metropolitan Police said it was “assessing information” supplied by the BBC, the headline on the paper’s spread read “At Last, BBC Calls in the Cops – Politicians furious over delay”.

The story in the next day’s Sun repeated the claim that the young person’s mother had said “the household name star paid her child more than £35,000 for sordid images, starting when they were 17”.

This time it was followed by: “Under the Protection of Children Act it is a criminal offence to make, distribute or possess an indecent image of anyone under 18.

“The Met Police were last night assessing the allegations.”

Wednesday’s paper carried fresh allegations that Edwards – who was still not named – sent “creepy” messages to a different 17-year-old and broke lockdown rules to meet them, while Thursday’s splash, with Edwards now named by his wife, made clear: “Cops said they had found no evidence her husband had committed any crime.”

The Independent Press Standards Organisation, the UK’s newspaper and magazine regulator, said on Thursday the “complex, fast-moving and very serious story” had attracted around 80 complaints, adding: “We are watching the developments carefully.”

Mr Connew told Sky News that Edwards could potentially take legal action because The Sun’s original story “did suggest” an offence might have taken place, even though he wasn’t identified.

David Yelland, who was editor of the paper from 1998 to 2003, tweeted: “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.”

Allegations were ‘rubbish’

And Jon Sopel, former North America editor of BBC News, called the scandal “an awful and shocking episode” and said the presenter’s “complicated private life” does not “feel very private now”.

The Sun had already faced criticism after the lawyer representing the young person dismissed the initial allegations as “rubbish” in a letter to the BBC on Monday, telling the broadcaster a denial had been sent to the paper on Friday evening.

There was no reference to the apparent denial in the original coverage of the story.

But The Sun has defended its journalism, reporting that the young person’s parents approached the paper – “making it clear they wanted no payment” – after becoming “frustrated” that Edwards remained on air and was still allegedly sending money after they complained to the BBC on 19 May.

“The allegations published by The Sun were always very serious. Further serious allegations have emerged in the past few days,” the paper’s statement said.

“From the outset, we have reported a story about two very concerned and frustrated parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and payments from him that fuelled the drug habit of a young person.

“We reported that the parents had already been to the police who said that they couldn’t help. The parents then made a complaint to the BBC which was not acted upon.”

Story ‘still legitimate’

Adam Boulton was among senior media figures to defend the paper for covering the story in the face of a “lot of recriminations”.

Speaking to The Take with Sophy Ridge, he said: “I would take the counter view… people such as yourself, such as ourselves, on television who hold others to account for their behaviour have to be prepared to be held accountable for behaviour – not just criminality.

“There’s a lot of careers ended a long way short of criminality because it was felt that they were bringing the organisation which they represented into disrepute.”

Boulton said most people would see it as “fairly reprehensible” for a man in his 60s to pay large amounts of money to a young person for illicit material, and to phone the youth threatening them afterwards – claims which were made against Edwards.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Neil Wallis, former deputy editor of The Sun, also backed the tabloid, telling Sky News: “They broke a story of massive public interest. They handled it with, as far as I can see, discretion.

“They gave desperate parents an opportunity to stop what they saw as a terrible thing.”

Speaking to Sky News, the former chief executive of ITN Stewart Purvis said the story is “still legitimate” but argued The Sun should have run the young person’s denial.

He said the story poses some “big questions for journalism”, and asked whether it is legitimate for other news organisations to repeat the allegations or make their own investigations.

The BBC had its own story that another young person felt “threatened” by messages they received from its then unnamed presenter and aired further allegations from one current and one former BBC worker, who said they had received “inappropriate messages” from Edwards, after he had been named.

“I don’t think it’s for broadcasters to point the finger at newspapers or vice versa. All of journalism has to ask itself some quite awkward questions this morning,” said Mr Purvis on Thursday.

UK

Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed – as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback

Published

1 hour ago

June 28, 2025

admin

Hundreds of NHS quangos to be axed - as plans unveiled for health funding to be linked to patient feedback

NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.

As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.

It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.

This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.

Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.

NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.

Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.

He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”

He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”

In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.

These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).

The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.

Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.

“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”

Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.

“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”

UK

Cocaine haul worth nearly £100m seized in one of UK’s biggest-ever drugs busts

Published

1 hour ago

June 28, 2025

admin

Cocaine haul worth nearly £100m seized in one of UK's biggest-ever drugs busts

A haul of cocaine worth nearly £100m has been seized at a UK port, authorities say.

The haul, weighing 2.4 tonnes, was found under containers on a ship arriving from Panama at London Gateway port in Thurrock, Essex.

It had been detected earlier this year after an intelligence-led operation but was intercepted as it arrived in the UK this week.

With the help of the port operator, 37 large containers were moved to uncover the drugs, worth an estimated £96m.

The haul is the sixth-largest cocaine seizure in UK history, according to Border Force.

Its maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said: “This seizure – one of the largest of its kind – is just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.

“Our message to these criminals is clear – more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt and dismantle your operations.”

Container ships are one of the main ways international gangs smuggle Class A drugs into the UK, Mr Eastaugh said.

Cocaine deaths in England and Wales increased by 31% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest Home Office data.

Elsewhere this weekend, a separate haul of 170 kilos of ketamine, 4,000 MDMA pills, and 20 firearms were found on a lorry at Dover Port in Kent.

Experts estimate the ketamine’s street value to be £4.5m, with the MDMA worth at least £40,000.

The driver of the lorry, a 34-year-old Tajikistan national, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of smuggling the items, the National Crime Agency said.

UK

Fixing welfare a ‘moral imperative’, Starmer says, after government U-turn

Published

4 hours ago

June 28, 2025

admin

Fixing welfare a 'moral imperative', Starmer says, after government U-turn

Sir Keir Starmer has said fixing the UK’s welfare system is a “moral imperative” after the government’s U-turn.

The prime minister faced a significant rebellion over plans to cut sickness and disability benefits as part of a package he said would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work.

The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.

Speaking at Welsh Labour’s annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday, Sir Keir said: “Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken, failing people every day.

“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way, conference, and we will.”

Sir Keir also warned of a “backroom stitch up” between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year’s Senedd elections.

He said such a deal would mark a “return to the chaos and division of the last decade”.

But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister’s “imaginary coalitions”, with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of “scraping the barrel”.

Reform UK said the NHS “isn’t safe in Labour’s hands” and people are “left waiting in pain” while ministers “make excuses”.

Voters in Wales will head to the polls next May and recent polls suggest Labour are in third place, behind Reform and Plaid.

Labour have been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the Senedd election.

At the conference, the prime minister was joined on stage by Wales Secretary Jo Stevens, First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader of Welsh Labour Carolyn Harries.

He described Baroness Morgan as a “fierce champion for Wales” and “the best person to lead Wales into the future”.

Sir Keir said the £80m transition board to support Port Talbot steelworkers after the closure of the plant’s blast furnaces was a result of “two Labour governments working together for the people of Wales”.

He described Nigel Farage as a “wolf in Wall Street clothing” who has “no idea what he’s talking about” on the issue.