Huw Edwards,the broadcaster’s best-paid newsreader,was suspended last year following tabloid newspaper allegations an had paid £35,000 to a person,who was 17 when their alleged relationship began. The money was allegedly used to fund their crack cocaine habit.
Huw Edwards announcing the death of Queens Elizabeth II on BBC News.BBC
Edwards’ wife,Vicky Flind,later revealed her husband to be the celebrity at the centre of the scandal,and said he was suffering from “serious mental health issues”.
The 62-year-old father of five had spent some time in hospital after the allegations emerged while the Metropolitan Police concluded that the presenter had not broken any laws.
Edwards told the BBC the resignation decision was made after medical advice from his doctors.
A BBC spokesman on Monday said:“After 40 years of service,Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors.”
“The BBC has accepted his resignation,which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don’t believe it appropriate to comment further.”
The BBC continued its own “fact-finding” inquiry into Edwards’ alleged behaviour while he remained off-air,butThe Times revealed in January that he remained unfit to take part in it.
Edwards was one of the best known TV presenters in the UK and presented the BBC’s flagshipNews at Ten evening news program for two decades.
He also led the broadcaster’s coverage for national events,such as Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and King Charles III’s coronation,and was set to anchor this year’s general election coverage.
Edwards had been the corporation’s highest-paid newsreader,with a pay bracket of £435,000 ($833,351) –£439,999 ($842,928) in 2022/2023,according to the corporation’s most recent annual report.
Several allegations were made against Edwards byThe Sun as well as. The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid first reported a family’s claims that their child was paid tens of thousands of pounds for explicit photos over three years. A lawyer for the person last year disputedThe Sun’s reporting.
BBC News also reported claims by its own staff of “inappropriate behaviour” against the presenter. Edwards has not commented on the claims.
His wife said at the time:“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented,he has been treated for severe depression in recent years ... and is now receiving in-patient hospital care,where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.”
The BBC faced questions over its handling of the affair,and whether it should have done more to investigate the allegations earlier. It later apologised to the family of the young person at the centre of the allegations after a review into the effectiveness of its non-editorial complaints policies and processes.
Get a note directly from our foreigncorrespondentson what’s making headlines around the world..