Quietly he said 'guilty' to each charge

HUW Edwards completed his catastrophic fall from grace yesterday as he admitted making indecent images of children.

- DAN WARBURTON

The veteran newsreader was for decades the flawless face of the BBC who broke news of the Queen's death and covered Prince Philip's funeral.

But that glittering career is now over after the 62-year-old stood in a dock and quietly and calmly replied "guilty" to three charges of having indecent images of kids on his phone.

And Edwards is staring at a possible jail sentence as he was told the offences had a starting point of 12 months in prison. He could also be put on the sex offenders' register.

Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, which leaves the BBC facing questions about why it kept him on, especially as he was suspended over a separate complaint at the time. He was not charged until June 26.

Westminster magistrates court heard that between December 2020 and August 2021 Edwards was sent 377 sexual WhatsApp snaps during exchanges with another person.

He was said to have seven Category A images of the very worst kind on his phone. At least two "moving images" were judged to be of children aged between seven and nine.

He also had photos of others aged 13 to 15 classed as Category A.

A further 12 images were grouped as Category B and 19 as Category C.

Edwards was sent the messages by Alex Williams of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. The 25-year-old had pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing images, Scotland Yard said. He was given a 12-month suspended sentence on March 15 by a Merthyr judge.