Edwards, 62, is facing 10 years in jail after today pleading guilty to making 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine.
Huw Edwards was only exposed as a paedophile after Welsh detectives investigating another sex offender uncovered the BBC star's number in a depraved WhatsApp chat, MailOnline can reveal.
When officers from South Wales Police seized Williams' phone, they uncovered a vile WhatsApp chat full of child pornography - which father-of-five Edwards was involved in. A Met spokesman said: 'The investigation into Huw Edwards began in November 2023 after information was received from South Wales Police.
Seven of the pictures were category 'A' images of the very worst kind. This included two moving images of a young boy, possibly aged between seven and nine years old. News of the disgraced broadcaster's offences came to light in a bombshell statement by the Met on Monday. Peter Bleksley, a veteran undercover officer and investigator who served with the Met, slammed the force for its 'atrocious communications' in a blistering broadside this afternoon.
'Frankly, it's not good enough. Huw Edwards is of huge public interest and a big personality, and we have a right to know.Legal experts have also expressed their concerns and admitted they had been left 'perplexed' by the case. A spokesman for the force defended its actions and said: 'The approach taken in this case isn't unusual.
The force added that although it initially said in July 2023 Edwards was not guilty of any criminal offence, following claims the disgraced star had paid a young person for explicit pictures, it pursued a criminal case against him as part of a 'separate' probe, which led to his arrest in November 2023.
The revelation comes as a former friend of Edwards branded the charges against him 'horrible and disgusting' after the fallen star pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. The downfall of one of Britain's most trusted voices who spent 40 years at the BBC has astounded those who know him and those who have watched him on TV. The famed former newsreader's career now lies in tatters
'He could be a very, very difficult and complicated man. He would speak about being prone to bouts of depression and sometimes he clashed with staff. 'But I don't think anybody suspected that there was child abuse imagery in his private life in any way, shape or form.'Protesters stood outside Westminster Magistrates' Court holding placards this morning
After entering his pleas, the disgraced newsreader sat staring into the distance, with his head tilted slightly upwards, and adjusted his tie as Ian Hope, prosecuting, laid out the case against him. 'Approximately 277 images were sent to Mr Edwards, 41 of which comprised indecent images of children - so just over 10 per cent of the total number of images sent.
Huw Edwards: A timeline of shame 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.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.
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.Advertisement 'It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards' devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there's nothing in those devices.Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.
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