Whistleblowers criticise BBC over Huw Edwards inquiry

Two whistleblowers who gave evidence to the BBC internal inquiry into Huw Edwards have criticised the way it was handled.

A staff member who told BBC News last year about flirtatious private messages sent by the presenter said they were "disappointed" not to have heard more about the inquiry's progress.

A second person, who claimed Edwards sent suggestive messages alongside a picture of his hotel suite in Windsor at the time of Prince Philip's funeral, said it felt like "things have been swept under the carpet".

Edwards was suspended in July 2023 after reports in the Sun newspaper claiming he had paid a young person for sexually explicit images.

The BBC started an internal inquiry which is thought not to have continued after Edwards left his job in April. The findings have not been published.

The BBC has been approached for comment.

The staff member claiming to have been sent flirtatious messages by Edwards said they considered them an abuse of power and were made to feel uncomfortable.

They said they did not feel reassured that BBC management have taken steps to deal with internal complaints or issues with power dynamics in the newsroom.

The whistleblowing team asked "all the questions they hoped they would" and were taking it seriously, they said.

"Then I was sort of surprised that I haven’t been informed about the findings or how the report was used," they said.

"I certainly don't feel like I've heard anything of substance about how the investigation went. In a way that's disappointing because it was quite a stressful thing to go through. It was all a big ordeal."

The staff member came forward after emails were sent out encouraging people to do so, saying "it felt like we had an obligation to report it".

Meanwhile, the second whistleblower, who has since left the BBC, said Edwards was "pushy" in trying to arrange to meet them.

Referring to the messages at the time of Prince Philip's funeral, which they first revealed to the Sun but have also shared with the BBC, they said he asked if they were staying overnight.

In the morning, the whistleblower claimed Edwards sent a photograph of the room he had stayed in – a suite paid for by the BBC.

"(The message) went, oh there’s plenty of room here.”

“…he replied in the morning and said, you missed a good night.”

On the investigation, they said they "gave everything and co-operated", and want the findings to be published.

They said: “It doesn’t seem transparent, it seems like things have been swept under the carpet, they’ve marked their own homework.”

Their comments came after Edwards pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of making indecent images of children, in a separate case.

He accessed indecent images of children as young as seven on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, which police said were sent to him by a convicted paedophile.

The BBC knew at the time of his arrest in November 2023 that he was being accused of offences relating to child abuse images.

The news presenter would have been dismissed had he been charged while still an employee, the corporation said in a statement on Wednesday.

The first staff member said they felt there was "less risk" of Edwards working for other media organisations following his court hearing, which was one of their main concerns.

But the employee said they did not feel the "power dynamics with these big stars, working in close proximity with junior staff" had been reflected on very much.

"I certainly haven't seen that in any of the kinds of messages that we've had from bosses or anything that they've thought about how somebody was kind of allowed to feel like he could get away with anything," they said.

"Probably not just by BBC bosses, but by the media world. He was treated like this God of news."

They said they were "not convinced" others would not be able to feel that powerful working for BBC News in the future.

On what they want from the BBC now, the staff member said: "I would just like some some kind of indication that they've taken it seriously. And I don't see any indication of that.

"Even if it was not publishing a report, but just putting out something that says we've been reflecting on how these power dynamics are dealt with and the power of the most senior employees."

"I’d just like to hear from the managers about what they think, have they reflected, is anything going to change?" the staff member added.