Formerly the BBC's most high-profile newsreader, Edwards continued to earn his salary for five months after he was arrested on three counts of making indecent images of children, during which time he was paid more than £200,000.
In a letter to staff, the BBC chair Samir Shah wrote that Edwards had “behaved in bad faith”, saying that the corporation believed he had taken his salary despite preparing to plead guilty to the “appalling” offences. “Today, the board has authorised the executive to seek the return of salary paid to Mr Edwards from the time he was arrested in November last year,” the board statement said.
“Mr Edwards pleaded guilty to an appalling crime. Had he been upfront when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money. He has clearly undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute.”
This story is from the August 10, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 10, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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