BBC News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards has been named as the man accused of allegedly paying a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures by his wife Vicky Flind.
Vicky named her husband as the man at the centre of the allegations in a statement issued on his behalf.
The statement read: ‘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.
‘I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children. Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
‘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. Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.
‘To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday. In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.’
In the statement, Huw’s wife shares her husband’s apology to his colleagues: ‘I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.’
BBC News sparked confusion on Wednesday when the newsreader told viewers Mr Edwards had resigned after his wife came forward to announce he was the presenter at the centre of allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.
She announced his departure before correcting herself and clarifying that Mr Edwards had not resigned.
Stars including Dan Walker and Alastair Campbell reacted to Mr Edwards being named as the presenter at the centre of the scandal.
The 61-year-old father of five was first the subject of a complaint in May. Alongside a statement confirming his suspension on Sunday, it was reported the BBC had been in touch with the police.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.
A statement said: ‘Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command have now concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed.
‘In reaching this decision, they have spoken to a number of parties including the BBC and the alleged complainant and the alleged complainant’s family, both via another police force. There is no further police action. As such, the Met has advised the BBC it can continue with its internal investigation.
‘We are aware of media reporting of further allegations against the same individual. No specific details or information about these allegations have been passed to us and therefore there is no police action at this time.
‘Should evidence of criminality or safeguarding issues be identified at any point we would expect matters to be referred to the relevant police force.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.
‘The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.’
Earlier this week, a picture appearing to show Edwards standing in a room half-naked has circulated around Twitter.
Edwards started his career at the BBC as a new trainee in 1984 and two years later he became the Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC Wales.
He first presented the flagship Six O’Clock News in 1994 and in 2003 began hosting the Ten O’Clock News.
In 2011, Edwards was one of the main presenters at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and in 2014 he took over the BBC’s election coverage when David Dimbleby stepped down.
He was also the news reader to announce the death of Queen Elizabeth last year and led the BBC’s coverage of the official mourning period and her funeral.
As well as being a Christian and attending church weekly, Edwards has also said he has suffered from bouts of depression since 2002.
After reports of the allegations emerged, a number of BBC stars took to social media to deny being the mystery presenter amid online speculation about who it could be – with Nicky Campbell even contacting the police due to a troll accusing him of being the unnamed star.
