Jeremy Vine calls for the BBC to reveal whether bosses asked Huw Edwards if he was guilty after his

By Dan Woodland Published: 14:34 BST, 1 August 2024 | Updated: 15:39 BST, 1 August 2024 136 View comments Jeremy Vine has called on the BBC to clarify whether bosses asked if Huw Edwards was guilty after the corporation was informed of his arrest last year.  Vine, who hosts a show on BBC Radio 2, said bosses should confirm if they tried to establish whether Edwards was guilty of any crimes after the veteran presenter’s arrest on ‘suspicion of serious offences’ in November.  The corporation knew of the disgraced star’s arrest at the time, but continued employing him until the broadcaster resigned on medical advice in April.  The avid cyclist claimed the BBC would not be able to justify paying the 62-year-old his salary while he was suspended if Edwards had admitted his crimes to them.   Edwards was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children on June 26 before which he was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.  Jeremy Vine (pictured) has called on the BBC to clarify whether bosses asked if Huw Edwards was guilty after the corporation was informed of his arrest last year Edwards was surrounded by a media scrum as he left the court in central London Friends of the ex-BBC News host said he kept his arrest ‘a secret’ and that they were stunned when news he had been charged was revealed this week (he is pictured reading the news) Before pleading guilty to indecent images today, Edwards had faced an earlier scandal after being accused of paying a young person for sexually explicit images last year.Bonsai Casino April 2023 – Police were contacted but ‘no criminality was identified’. May 18, 2023 – A family member of the young person, who was 17 at the time, made an in-person complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter. May 19. 2023 – A complainant contacted the BBC in a 29-minute call to the BBC’s audience services team, and the details were referred to the Corporate Investigations Team.  June 6, 2023 –  After getting no reply to the email, the Corporate Investigations Team tries to call the complainant but the call does not connect. July 5, 2023 – Edwards is last seen on air as he covered King Charles’ visit to Scotland. July 6, 2023 – The Sun informs BBC Press Office about allegations against the star presenter. July 7, 2023 – The Sun published its exclusive which alleged that a BBC star, unnamed at the time, paid £35,000 for sexual content to someone beginning when they were 17.  But a lawyer acting on behalf of the young person told The Sun there was ‘no truth’ to the claims. July 9, 2023 – The BBC confirms that a male presenter has been suspended from all duties.  July 11, 2023 – Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie defends the delay in speaking to the BBC presenter.  July 12, 2023 – Huw Edwards is revealed as the BBC presented by his wife Vicky Flind. July 13, 2023 – The Met Police said detectives from its specialist crime command have ‘concluded their assessment and have determined there is no information to indicate that a criminal offence has been committed November 8 – Edwards is arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children.  April 22, 2024 – Edwards resigns from the BBC having not appeared on air for months.  June 26, 2024 – Edwards is charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.  July 29, 2024 – Met Police first reveal the charges against Edwards in a press statement.  July 31, 2024 – Edwards appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and pleads guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, between December 2020 and August 2022. September 16, 2024 – This is when Edwards will be sentenced Speaking on his self-titled Channel 5 chat show, Vine said: ‘We need to find out if BBC said, what (were you arrested) for and are you guilty? ‘If he said to them, ‘It’s for these serious offences, but I’m not guilty,’ then I would think you could start to take action to get the money back. ‘Because that clearly is a lie. He’s admitted he’s guilty. ‘I don’t know whether the BBC asked him ‘Are you guilty?’ because you can’t justify paying him beyond November if you know he’s guilty.’ He added: ‘The information may have come from an intermediary who says I’ve got no more information than this – Huw has been arrested.’ He continued: ‘What a mess and the poor BBC at the centre. It has terrible moments, but there are precious reasons why we don’t want it to go down the swanny. ‘This is not the day to defend it because this is a bad, bad week. I couldn’t believe yesterday when I heard that the BBC had been told about it in November.’ Before he resigned in April on medical advice, Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report. This was in spite of him only being on air for three months of the financial year ending in March.  Talent pay figures show that Edwards saw his pay increase shoot up from up to £439,999 to up to £479,999. The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee, it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge in June he no longer worked for the corporation. Asked if the BBC should try to recoup the money paid to Edwards following his arrest, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told Vine’s programme: ‘Frankly, if Huw has any dignity left then he would hand some of the money back, certainly the 200 grand he has made since his arrest. I think it would be gracious of him to do that.’ She added: ‘We need to remember the BBC as a whole is being tarnished and reputationally this is very very damaging of course. But the news division is quite rightly and thankfully quite separate from the corporation itself. ‘It’s quite a hard division for people to make but we in the news have without fear or favour questioned the bosses at the BBC and that is entirely right. ‘In the newsroom themselves they were kept in the dark right until this week, which is extraordinary.’ It comes as the disgraced newsreader, 62, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine.  The veteran news reader kept seven category ‘A’ images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by a paedophile. He had a total of 41 foul images, showing youngsters between the age of seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday . The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest ‘secret’ from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail today.  Speaking on his self-titled Channel 5 chat show, Vine said bosses should confirm if they tried to establish whether Edwards was guilty of any crimes Edwards is pictured leaving the court in London on Wednesday morning  This was the moment Edwards entered his car before being driven away from the  court The father-of-five moved out of the family home in Dulwich after separating from his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind. In a statement after Edwards appeared in court, the BBC said: ‘The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. ‘The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year. ‘In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health. ‘Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. ‘During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. ‘We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.’ It comes amid questions over why the CPS waited weeks to confirm charges against the presenter. The ex-News at Ten presenter was charged in June, but the details were only revealed on Monday, after the date of his first court appearance was released by Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Edwards is pictured leaving the court after his brief appearance where he admitted to making indecent images of children  Edwards was flanked by police officers when he turned up for his court hearing on Wednesday Edwards has since left the family home and has reportedly split with his TV producer wife, Vicky Flind (the pair are pictured together in 2018 in London) Edwards faced a media frenzy as he approached Westminster Magistrates’ Court A former attorney general said it was ‘very puzzling’ that the CPS did not publish details of the charges brought against Edwards around the time he was charged. He added that the CPS’s actions did not seem ‘in accordance with’ the principles of open justice, The Telegraph first reported. The CPS denied it had purposely suppressed details about the presenter being charged or given him preferential treatment. A CPS spokesperson said: ‘Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment. ‘Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues.’ Following his appearance in court on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected. ‘The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year. ‘In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health. ‘Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC. ‘During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. ‘We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.’ Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group