Huw Edwards named as BBC presenter at centre of allegations – as it happened

A summary of today’s developments

Here is some of Thursday’s front pages starting with the Mirror.

Vicky Flind, the TV producer wife of Huw Edwards has not been involved in editing tonight’s Peston ITV politics show, however Robert Peston told viewers she would want everyone “to get on with the show”.

The ITV News political editor echoed comments made by MP Jess Phillips that Vicky Flind is the “nicest, kindest and most decent woman”.

He told viewers she is the editor of the channel’s flagship political programme but “hasn’t been involved tonight or at all this week”.

Peston said it had been “difficult to feel what she and her family have been going through”, but added he wasn’t looking to “minimise complaints” against the presenter.

“At this point Vicky would tell me to get on with the show, so we will,” he said.

Jackie Hayes, board director for Hacked Off, told BBC Newsnight she is “profoundly depressed by the unashamed abuse of power by the Sun” and “urgent answers needed” from the newspaper.

Adam Boulton, former political editor of Sky News and a friend of Edwards, said the BBC needs to hold Edwards to account.

He acknowledged though it is a “sad state of affairs,” he does not believe that The Sun should not have published its original story.

He said it would be wrong if it the report was untrue but said there has so far been no “specific denial”.

“At the moment it looks like it’s in the legitimate public interest,” Boulton told Sky News.

He added: “Those on television who hold others to account for their behaviour have to be prepared to be held to account.”

The BBC should be given space to conduct an investigation into the allegations faced by newsreader Huw Edwards, a government minister said.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, told Sky News: “I think the right thing to do is to allow the BBC to conduct whatever investigation they feel they need to do and to make sure that the family are not dragged into this.

“After all, there’s one person who’s been alleged to have done wrong, not his whole family.”

Asked about the BBC’s handling of the controversy, he said: “I have very partial information and I don’t want to rush to judgment when actually these are serious allegations.

“And the correct thing to do is to find out what actually happened before casting aspersions on anyone.”

A former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, has criticised the newspaper’s coverage and said he wishes Huw Edwards well.

“The Sun inflicted terror on Huw despite no evidence of any criminal offence,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Sun newspaper issued a statement this evening defending its coverage and stating it will cooperate with the BBC’s internal investigation process.

Earlier, we blogged that BBC News reported new claims that Edwards is alleged to have sent messages to three colleagues which left them feeling uncomfortable, with one of the individuals alleging that “inappropriate and suggestive messages were sent”.

BBC Newsnight has also spoken to one current and one former BBC worker who alleged they received inappropriate messages from Edwards, some late at night and signed off with kisses.

The BBC said: “We always treat the concerns of staff with care, and would urge anyone to speak to us if they have any concerns. We have clear processes for making complaints.”

Dan Walker, the former host of BBC Breakfast, has called the development an “awful situation”, and said he hopes people “on all sides [get the] time, space and support they need”.

From hosting the nightly news to announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Huw Edwards is the presenter the nation turns to when crisis strikes, write Rachel Hall and Matthew Weaver.

But now the nation is consumed by a crisis of his own, after he was named by his wife as the man at the centre of a media scandal. Media reports of a BBC presenter spending £35,000 on explicit photographs from a young person, which first emerged on Friday, had led to a frenzy of speculation on social media.

Here is the full statement from Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, to staff.

“I wanted to write following this evening’s statements from the family of Huw Edwards and the police.

“Many of you will have read the words of Vicky Flind, Huw’s wife. It is a reminder that the last few days have seen personal lives played out in public. At the heart of this are people and their families.

“This will no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days. I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.

“Also this afternoon, the Metropolitan police and South Wales police confirmed they would be taking no further action following an assessment of information provided to them.

“As you know, we were asked to pause our fact-finding investigations until that assessment had been concluded. It is important we now continue with this work. I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.

“This remains a very complex set of circumstances. As we have done throughout, our aim must be to navigate through this with care and consideration, in line with the BBC values.”

The spokespersons for the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, have today both refused to comment, saying it was a matter for the BBC.

On Saturday Frazer did comment, saying she had spoken to the BBC director general, Tim Davie, about the “deeply concerning allegations”.