Huw Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind names him as BBC star at centre of ‘£35k sex pics scandal’

Huw Edwards was named today by his own wife as the BBC star accused of paying £35,000 to a vulnerable teenager in exchange for explicit photos – minutes after Scotland Yard dropped their investigation into the allegations.

Vicky Flind issued the shock statement and revealed her husband, 61, was “suffering from serious mental health issues” after the claims emerged in The Sun six days ago.

Ms Flind, who also works in TV, said the father-of-five is “now receiving hospital care where he will remain for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family, stating: “I am doing this mainly out of concern for his mental wellbeing and to protect our children’.

She added: “I know Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been affected by the recent media speculation. With this statement we hope to put an end to that. Once he’s good enough, he intends to respond to the published stories.’

Her statement was released at 6pm – but there was confusion, as the BBC first said Mr Edwards, who was recently in charge of the Queen’s death and King Charles’ coronation, had stepped down from his role as top newsreader.

But minutes later, the company clarified that he had not quit. Sources close to the star have since stressed that he has not quit his job.

The Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police both said tonight that no criminal offense had been committed by the presenter. The BBC had suspended its internal investigation into claims that Edwards had paid the teen for explicit photos – and that investigation is now continuing.

The BBC’s top presenter is currently facing four separate charges. These include paying a young person around £35,000 for sexually explicit photos over a three-year period, breaking stay-at-home rules to meet another young person, messaging a 17-year-old with love hearts and kisses and sending threatening messages to a person in his early twenties he met on a dating app.

It comes as the Metropolitan Police said tonight that no criminal offense has been committed by the BBC presenter accused of paying for sexually explicit images.

Ms Flind said this evening: ‘In light of recent coverage of the ‘BBC Presenter’ I make this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards after five extremely difficult days for our family.

“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.

‘Huw suffers from serious psychological problems. As is well documented, he has been treated for major depression in recent years.

“The events of the past few days have made things much worse, he has had another serious episode and is now admitted to a hospital where he will remain for the foreseeable future.

“Once he’s good enough for that, he plans to respond to the published stories.”

She said Mr Edwards was first made aware of the allegations against him last Thursday.

“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition, I would ask that the privacy of my family and all others involved in these disturbing events be respected,” the presenter’s wife added.

“I know that Huw deeply regrets that so many colleagues have been affected by the recent media speculation. With this ruling we hope to put an end to that.’

It’s because a fourth young person came out today with accusations about the presenter.

Mr Edwards, 61, is one of the company’s most high-profile newsreaders and receives more than £430,000 on his current salary.

He was given the flagship BBC News at Ten program for over 10 years and has continued to report more than a dozen times since the allegations were reportedly first reported to the company on May 19.

Mr Edwards’ faced mounting pressure from his colleagues to come forward after BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine called on the presenter to identify himself to avoid slandering other BBC stars.

Mr Vine said today: ‘He must now come forward publicly. These new accusations will lead to even more vitriol being thrown at completely innocent colleagues of his. And the BBC, which he must love, is on its knees with this.’

Meanwhile, former BBC presenter Jon Sopel joined the row yesterday afternoon – before the fourth person made his accusations – to reveal the unnamed star is “extremely angry” about how the claims were covered.

Met police said in a statement tonight: ‘Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command have now completed their assessment and have determined that there is no information to suggest that a criminal offense has been committed.

“To reach this decision, they have spoken to a number of parties, including the BBC and the alleged complainant and the family of the alleged complainant, both through different police forces. There is no further police action. As such, the Met has advised the BBC to continue its internal investigation.

“We are aware of media reports of further allegations against the same person.

“No specific details or information regarding these allegations have been communicated to us and therefore the police are not taking any action at this time.

“Should evidence of crime or security issues be identified at any time, we expect cases to be referred to the relevant police force.”

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We have seen the police statement confirming that they have completed their assessment and are taking no further action. We are grateful to them for completing this work so quickly.

“The police had previously asked us to suspend our investigation of facts and we will now continue that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, while remaining mindful of our duty of care to all concerned. ‘

South Wales Police confirmed they had also looked into the case.

Police said in a statement: ‘South Wales Police have kept in touch with representatives from the Metropolitan Police and the BBC following a meeting on Monday.

In April 2023, the police initially received information about the well-being of an adult. No crime has been detected.

“Further to recent events, further investigations have been conducted and officers have spoken with a number of parties to determine whether any criminal charges are being made.

“At the moment there are no indications that criminal offenses have been committed. There are no ongoing investigations being carried out by South Wales Police.

“However, should evidence of crime or security issues be identified at any time in the future, these will be investigated.”