The BBC has given up any hope that Huw Edwards will return the £200,000 he was paid after his arrest for making indecent images of children, despite the newsreader’s return to the public eye.
BBC bosses have appealed to Edwards to hand back the salary he was paid for the five months between his arrest and departure from the corporation in April 2024.
One of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of accessing indecent photographs of children sent to him by a convicted sex offender via WhatsApp.
The broadcaster has said it would not have continued to pay Edwards public money if he had been “up front when asked by the BBC about his arrest”.
Edwards addressed his downfall in a series of posts on Substack over the past week, saying members of the public “pass judgment” too readily but admitted “behaving with shocking recklessness”.
Any hopes the 64-year-old’s re-emergence could lead to a change of heart over paying back his salary are set to be dashed, BBC insiders say.
One News figure said: “He’s rebuffed every attempt. There’s no legal route to recover the money and any attempt would cost a lot of licence fee cash and reopen the whole story. That’s the last thing the BBC needs.”
More than £1.3m has been spent by the BBC investigating the Edwards scandal, according to the Financial Times, including £340,000 on legal advice regarding his employment.
Another former colleague said: “There’s a lot of self-justification in his Substack posts so far and little remorse for the victims of abuse. He might even use it to defend his decision to take the BBC pay.”
The BBC said it had asked for all the money paid to Edwards for the period November 2023 (arrest) and April 2024 (resignation) to be returned.
A source said: “He has not returned any money paid to him by the BBC after his arrest, in respect of any of his work for either BBC public service or the BBC’s commercial operations.”
Asked if he would discuss returning the £200,000 with the BBC, Edwards told The i Paper: “I look forward to addressing these and other BBC matters later this year.”
Family house price slashed
Edwards’ legal costs over the case are estimated at around £500,000.
His six-bedroom family home in Dulwich, south London, was initially on the market for £4.75m, but the price was slashed by £900,000 in March after failing to sell. It appears to have been taken off the market.
After 40 years of BBC service, Edwards, who earned at least £475,000 a year when he left, has a pension pot which could hit £2m, according to estimates. Insiders say the BBC has no cost-effective legal route to try and recover the pension.
Edwards said his Substack was a “restart” not an attempt to “relaunch” his career. He is not charging subscribers for his posts.
If his commentary pieces, which have so far covered Westminster politics as well as his own situation, find an audience, it could lead to other income-generating ventures such as podcasts or a YouTube channel.
BBC Chair ‘frustrated’ over pay refusal
Given a six-month suspended jail sentence, Edwards reportedly does not want to be seen to be profiting from his downfall by accepting lucrative offers to tell his story. He previously said he has expressed “sincere regret and remorse” for his criminal behaviour.
Child sexual abuse campaigners have criticised Edwards for his “inappropriate and disrespectful” choice to launch a blog, which showed a “staggering lack of awareness”.
Edwards launched the Substack last week, saying he wanted to make a “positive contribution” on mental health and to rebuild “some kind of worthwhile life”.
In a 1,200-word essay published on Tuesday, Edwards said that we were in an age that “celebrates judgment, demands certainty, prioritises anger over restraint [and] empowers the cynical”.
BBC Chairman Samir Shah has said Edwards had been asked several times to return his salary. Shah told MPs last year: “There was a moment that we thought he might just do the right thing for a change, then he decided not to.
“It’s quite frustrating because I think he should have done it. He could still do it. It’s not right. He’s taken licence fee payers’ money and he knew what he’d done and should return it now.”
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