Huw Edwards has been asked by the BBC to return more than £200,000 in salary he received after his arrest last November, as it launches an independent review of its workplace culture.
BBC chair Samir Shah told employees in a letter that the former newsreader had “behaved in bad faith” because he had accepted his salary despite knowing he would plead guilty to the offences of making indecent images of children.
Edwards was suspended in July 2023 and arrested in November. He resigned – on medical advice – from the BBC in April this year. The BBC did not dismiss him after his arrest and he was not charged until June this year. Neither his arrest nor his charges were announced publicly at the time.
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In the year to April 2024, he received a salary of nearly £480,000, an increase of £40,000 on the previous year.
Edwards, formerly the BBC’s most high-profile newsreader, continued to receive more than £200,000 salary for the five months after his arrest.
The BBC has not said whether legal proceedings will be undertaken if Edwards refuses to pay back his salary.
Director general Tim Davie confirmed last week that the corporation knew the presenter had been arrested over the most serious category of indecent images of children in November.
In a statement, the BBC Board said that had Edwards been upfront when asked by the BBC about his arrest, “we would never have continued to pay him public money”.
It said: “He has clearly undermined the trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute.”
The board said it “supports the decisions taken by [Davie] and his team during this period”, saying the corporation’s decisions to continue to pay Edwards took into account its legal and contractual obligations, the knowledge the BBC had at the time, duty of care concerns, and “due regard for the accountability that the BBC has for public money”.
It said: “The executive has agreed to look at lessons from this period, including the BBC’s approach to the rules surrounding payments when employees are suspended.”
The BBC Board has also announced that it is commissioning an independent review to make recommendations on practical steps that could strengthen its workplace culture in line with its values.
It will set out terms of reference and leadership of the review early next month, with the outcome being published “within months”.
The board’s statement added: “While the nature of the charges against Mr Edwards is related to his own personal life, the board believes these events have also put a spotlight on the question of power imbalances in the workplace. We remain concerned about the potential for inappropriate workplace behaviour, particularly in creative and editorial environments.
“While challenges related to power imbalances in the workplace are a challenge for multiple employers, the BBC must hold itself to the highest standards.”
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