Huw Edwards gets suspended sentence after admitting accessing indecent images of children | Huw Edwards

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence in an extraordinary fall from grace after admitting accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven.

Edwards, 63, who has worked for the BBC for four decades, looked pale and tired as he was handed down in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring.

Edwards, who nodded several times during the verdict, was told he was “perhaps the best-known newsreader/journalist in the United Kingdom” but his “long-built reputation is in tatters.”

He must also attend a programme designed to protect him from re-offending after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children after convicted paedophile Alex Williams sent him 41 illegal images.

Passing sentence, the chief judge said he accepted evidence that Edwards had no memory of seeing the indecent images at the time of the offence due to his mental health problems. The court heard that Edwards had struggled with his sexuality since 1994 and was currently at “tangible risk” of suicide.

Edwards had been involved in an online chat with the then 19-year-old Williams on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, in which he sent the younger man hundreds of pounds, “apparently on the back of [him] Sending pornographic images to Mr Edwards.”

Edwards received 377 sexual images from Williams, including 41 indecent images of children, of which seven were Category A (the worst), 12 were Category B and 22 were Category C.

In his opening statement at the hearing, prosecutor Ian Hope said: “It is clear from the recovered WhatsApp chat that part of the chat between Alex Williams and Mr Edwards was of a sexual nature.”

“It is also clear that Mr Edwards paid significant sums of money – occasionally several hundred pounds – to Alex Williams, which Mr Williams directly requested as gifts or presents on several occasions, apparently after sending Mr Edwards pornographic images which they had chatted about.

“Alex Williams has explained that the money was more to support him at university and amounted to around £1,000 to £1,500.”

Hope said Edwards did not respond after Williams sent him a sex video of children between the ages of seven and nine and 11 to 13 and there was evidence that he had asked not to send him illegal images.

The public prosecutor's office stated: “On February 10, 2021, a Category A video was transmitted which is notable in that the age of one of the children involved was significantly younger than in the other images transmitted – it showed several acts of penetration between two children aged approximately seven to nine and eleven to 13 respectively.

“There was no direct response from Mr Edwards to this video other than marking it as 'read'. A week later… several attachments were sent, including two Category B videos and four Category C still images containing indecent images of children.

“On February 19, 2021, Alex Williams asked, 'Is the stuff I'm sending too young for you?' Mr. Edwards' next response is dated February 22, 2021 and is, 'Don't send stuff to minors.'”

However, the court heard that when asked if Edwards wanted “indecent images and videos” of someone described as “yng (sic)”, Williams was told to “go ahead”.

When Williams asked if he wanted sexual images of a person whose “age is clearly between 14 and 16,” he wrote “yes xxx.”

Williams, who was charged in connection with his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and found guilty of seven counts following an investigation by South Wales Police, received a 12-month suspended sentence on March 15.

Edwards' conviction means he will avoid prison unless he commits further crimes or violates conditions set by the judge.

The former presenter, who announced the Queen's death in 2022, arrived in central London an hour before the hearing, pulling a suitcase behind him and wearing a blue cardigan.

The court heard that the phone Edwards used to communicate with Williams was never recovered, but that WhatsApp messages suggested multiple social media platforms were used to share images. The two men only met in person once.

Edwards suffered from depression and other mental illnesses, the court heard, and was diagnosed with atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease, in December 2023.

Edwards' defence lawyer Philip Evans KC said the evidence that his client had specifically asked Williams not to send illegal images was a significant mitigating circumstance and there was no evidence that Edwards had exploited his position at the BBC to obtain offensive images.

He said Edwards, who is separated from his wife with whom he has five adult children, wanted to apologize “to the court” and to those he had hurt.

Evans said: “He wants the court to know through me how deeply sorry he is. He recognises the disgusting nature of such indecent images and the pain he has caused those who appear in such images.

“He sincerely apologizes and makes it clear that he deeply regrets it. He recognizes that he has betrayed the invaluable trust of so many people.

“He recognizes that he has hurt and caused harm to his family and loved ones around him. He is truly sorry for all of this and is truly sorry for committing these crimes.”