Disgraced BBC News anchor Huw Edwards pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing child pornography, including one image of a child believed to be as young as 7.
The former host of the BBC’s flagship “News at Ten” program — and one of the most recognizable faces on British TV — hid his face behind a pair of black shades as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Wednesday.
The veteran journalist, 62, who quit the BBC after 40 years in April 2023, admitted to possessing 41 indecent images, seven of which are Category A — the most serious offense.
The images were mostly of children ages 13 to 15. However, there were two moving images of a young child believed to be between 7 and 9 years old, prosecutors said.
The married father of five, who wore a dark blue suit, light blue tie and white shirt, faces up to 10 years in prison.
Edwards — who remained the national broadcaster’s top-earning news anchor even after he quit in disgrace — confirmed his name, address and date of birth in a loud, clear voice ahead of the 26-minute hearing.
The court heard that Edwards and another adult man — who was not identified — had been messaging via WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
During that time, Edwards received a total of 377 sexual images, 41 of which were indecent images of minors — the bulk of which were sent in a two-month period.
In February 2021, the man asked Edwards whether the minors in the images he was sending were too young, to which the disgraced anchor responded by telling him not to send anything illegal.
The two men continued to exchange pornographic material until April 2022, the court heard.
Edwards’ defense lawyer, Philip Evans KC, said there was no suggestion that the ex-BBC presenter had made or created any of the images.
Evans added that Edwards did not keep or send the images on his device.
“There’s no suggestion in this case that Mr. Edwards has … in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort,” he told the court Wednesday.
“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.”
“It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat,” he continued.
“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.”
According to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service, the term “making” can include opening, accessing, downloading and storing the content on a device.
It comes less than a week after the BBC published its annual report, in which salaries and earnings of the network’s top employees were revealed.
Edwards, who topped the list for newsreaders at the corporation with a staggering $616,000 annual salary, earned a massive $51,000 pay raise last year — despite being suspended for most of that time.
The Welsh anchor was unmasked by his wife, Vicky Flind, last year as the mystery broadcaster who allegedly paid more than $45,000 to a teenager for sexually explicit photos.
