A news anchor embroiled in recent allegations of child pornography was identified Wednesday by his wife, according to a statement cited by the BBC.
Vicky Flind named her husband, top BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, in a public statement initially released to PA News and republished in full by the BBC.
“In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family,” Flind’s statement began.
Edwards “is suffering from serious mental health issues” and has received treatment for “severe depression in recent years,” the statement continued.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future,” Flind added, according to the BBC. “Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.” (RELATED: Broadcasting Giant Under Pressure After Allegations Of Child Pornography)
#Breaking Vicky Flind, the wife of news reader Huw Edwards, has named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images in a statement issued on his behalf pic.twitter.com/mkw8fFtPER
— PA Media (@PA) July 12, 2023
Flind asked the public to respect “the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events,” adding that Edwards was “deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.” She shared her hope that “this statement will bring that to an end.”
The Specialist Crime Command of the UK‘s Metropolitan Police, which had been investigating the allegations, released a statement minutes before Flind’s statement became public, announcing the end of its investigation and stating the department “determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed,” the BBC reported in a separate article Wednesday.
The broadcasting network will reportedly resume its “fact finding investigations” into the allegations, having suspended its probe at the police force’s request in order for law enforcement to conduct its investigation.
The allegation that Edwards paid about $45,000 over a three-year period to a now-20-year-old individual in exchange for the individual’s sexually explicit photographs first broke Friday in The Sun, with other allegations following.
“This is an awful and shocking episode, where there was no criminality, but perhaps a complicated private life,” Edwards’ former BBC colleague Jon Sopel tweeted following Flind’s statement, while also wishing Edwards well.