The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) scrubbed mention of a Welsh pedophile’s past as a drag queen from its reports on a sting operation that exposed the alleged child molester.
“Man caught in paedophile hunters’ sting operation,” BBC’s current headline reads. A snapshot of the webpage taken when the article was published on Thursday reveals that the outlet’s original headline read, “Ex-drag queen caught in paedophile hunters’ sting operation.” (RELATED: Alleged Mentor For 11-Year-Old ‘Drag Queen’ Sentenced For Nearly A Dozen Felony Child Abuse Crimes)
“Andrew Way, 61, of Clwyd Wen, Wrexham, admitted trying to engage in sexual communication with a child of 14 and had repeatedly breached a sexual harm prevention order,” the outlet reports. Other outlets give his name as Andrew James Bryant.
Not a surprise for those of us who inhabit the real world > Ex-drag queen caught in paedophile hunters’ sting operation.
Well done to the vigilantes. Where were the police? https://t.co/s2lfjt1vJC
— Dominic Farrell (@DominicFarrell) August 24, 2023
According to the article, Way was also working on organizing Welshpool’s first-ever gay pride event. The detail is not present in the most recent version of the article. Way has been under a sexual harm prevention order since 2007, Prosecutor Laura Knightly said, and had broken it by having unsupervised contact with a two-year-old without the child’s mother’s knowledge.
An update posted below the most recent version of the story appears to address the edits made to the piece.
“Update 25 August 2023: An earlier version of this story made reference to details not reported in court and has been updated accordingly,” the note reads. A 2019 North Wales Live story about Way’s appearance on a TV court show refers to his work as a drag queen performing under the name “Miss Gin.”
The BBC referred the Daily Caller to the article’s note when reached for comment.