Huw Edwards’ paedo pal: How fixer was paid a whole bunch by BBC star
A convicted paedophile was paid hundreds of pounds by Huw Edwards to send ‘evil’ child abuse images, spending his cash to see him through university.
Alex Williams, 25, shared 41 indecent images with Edwards, 63, in an abhorrent WhatsApp chat.
Among the sickening trove of abusive pictures shared by the sex offender were two showing a boy as young as seven.
Edwards was snared by chance by police in Wales who were investigating Williams and stumbled upon his messages sent to the famed newsreader.
The Sun reported that the 25-year-old also distributed horrific photographs to four other men, one of which showed a one-year-old being sexually abused.
No child abuse pictures were found on the former BBC news presenter’s phone.
Alex Williams, 25, shared indecent images with Huw Edwards that led to the newsreader’s downfall. Williams is pictured here as a teenager on a family trip to a Welsh beauty spot
Williams (pictured) was snared by Welsh police – who later discovered he had sent Edwards a series of indecent images of children
Huw Edwards was snared by chance by police in Wales who were investigating Williams and stumbled on his messages to the now-disgraced newsreader (Edwards is pictured leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court)
Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, admitted possessing and distributing child sex images and having 58 prohibited computer-generated images of children.
The images were slammed by a judge as ‘evil’ and Williams received a suspended sentence of 12 months.
The Welshman sent Edwards 377 images, 41 of which were indecent and formed the charges to which the veteran broadcaster pleaded guilty.
Two images involved a boy believed to be as young as seven, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
63-year-old Edwards was spared jail today, sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years.
Williams’ mother claimed to be unaware that her son was convicted of child pornography offences at Merthyr Crown Court earlier this year.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday how Huw Edwards had replied ‘yes xxx’ when asked if he wanted a set of indecent images of children (note: This is not the actual text message exchange)
It was also told that Edwards had told Williams that ages ‘can be deceptive’ when told one of the subjects in an image was ‘quite yng looking’, before asking if he had ‘any more? (note: This is not the actual text message exchange)
She and Williams’ father said they had not seen Williams for three or four months – although neighbours said they spotted him in the street.
The sex offender’s mother also claimed she knows of no connection between her son and the disgraced anchorman.
At Edwards’ sentencing hearing on Monday, it was revealed what was said between the pair on the messaging app between December 2020 and August 2021.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard how Edwards had replied ‘yes xxx’ when asked by Williams if he wanted a set of indecent images of children.
He also messaged saying ‘go on’ when asked if he wanted ‘naughty pics and vids’ of somebody described as ‘yng (sic)’.
The court also heard that the presenter had told Williams via message that ages ‘can be deceptive’ when informed that one of the subjects in an image was ‘quite yng looking’, before asking if he had ‘any more?’.
Outlining the evidence against the veteran broadcaster earlier, prosecutor Ian Hope said: ‘It is clear from the face of the WhatsApp chat recovered that a deal of the chat between Alex Williams and Mr Edwards was sexual in nature.
‘It is also clear that Mr Edwards was paying not insignificant sums of money – low hundreds of pounds on an occasional basis – to Alex Williams which Mr Williams directly asked for on several occasions, as gifts or presents, apparently off the back of sending pornographic images to Mr Edwards, about which images they chatted.
‘Alex Williams has stated that the money was more generally to support him at university and amounted to around £1,000 to £1,500.’
Mr Hope continued: ‘From that chat in December 2020, Alex Williams said that he had ‘a file of vids and pics for you of someone special’.
‘Mr Edwards immediately queried who the subject was and was then sent three images of seemingly the same person, from two of which images the subject’s age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16.
Williams has since gone into hiding after his link with Edwards was exposed by the Mail. He is pictured at a family event
Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included two sexual videos of a boy under nine (Edwards is seen leaving court)
Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London this morning with a wheelie suitcase for his sentencing
‘These two were category C indecent images of children in which the child was exposing his penis.
‘Alex Williams stated that he had ’12 videos and 42 pics I’ve sent you a video of him before’.
‘Shortly after Alex Williams asked: ‘want me to send you the full file?’ Mr Edwards responded ‘Yes xxx…’ immediately following which Alex Williams sent to Mr Edwards around 30 attachments, about half of which were category C indecent images of children.’
Mr Hope said he offered to send 12 videos in December 2020 and the then-BBC presenter responded that he could not see the latest batch but ‘the others were amazing’.
Edwards received and opened seven category A – the most indecent – images, 12 category B and 22 category C photos between December 2020 and August 2021, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
The news came as a BBC insider claimed Edwards had messaged ‘lads in the newsroom for drinks’ for years.
A BBC insider claimed that bosses at the corporation may have ‘turned a blind eye’ to the star’s behaviour within the newsroom in order to ‘protect’ him.
The BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested on ‘suspicion of serious offences’ last November, but kept paying his £479,000-a-year salary until he resigned in April.
A BBC source said: ‘It was known for a few years he was messaging an assortment of lads in the newsroom for drinks etc, yet the feeling is senior editors might have turned a blind eye. If this was the case, it points to the usual ”protect the star” stuff.’
Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year, with the BBC being aware of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was then charged on June 26. He resigned in April on health grounds.
The News at Ten reader, whose glittering four-decade career alongside his marriage is now in tatters, is said to have kept his arrest ‘secret’ from his friends, a former colleague told the Mail.
Meanwhile, both the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations over the handling of Edwards’s arrest and charge.
The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed details of the charge or given Edwards preferential treatment.
Welsh police uncovered the broadcaster crimes during a separate probe into a sex offender in Wales. Edwards is pictured in court
It comes after the BBC director-general said the corporation has ‘lessons to learn’ after the ‘shocking’ Jermaine Jenas, Edwards and Strictly scandals in a grovelling letter to staff.
Tim Davie said that changing the culture at the broadcaster would be a ‘critical priority’ – as he admitted ‘we have all felt let down’.
He told staff that he wanted to ‘acknowledge that this has been a demanding period for the BBC’, in an email senton August 27.
The corporation has recently faced a string of scandals featuring top celebs, with Match of the Day star Jermaine Jenas being sacked for sending inappropriate messages to two female members of staff.
Mr Davie wrote: ‘Aside from the challenges of delivering such brilliant output, I want to acknowledge that this has been a demanding period for the BBC and everyone who works within it.
‘The shocking news about Huw Edwards and other stories, concerning some of our high profile shows, have put the BBC in the spotlight.
‘It can be challenging for us all when the BBC becomes the headline. We work for this wonderful organisation because we care about what it stands for and the role it plays in society’.
The director-general said that workers now have to hold themselves to the highest standards – thanking them for supporting the BBC as they ‘navigated a tough situation’.
He said that there are ‘lessons we can learn’ from the slew of scandals that have hit the broadcaster, pledging to ‘build trust’.
Edwards, of Wandsworth, wore a dark blue suit with a blue tie in the dock
He added that he will continue to oversee plans to grow the organisation for the future.
Mr Davie continued: ‘I know we have all felt let down and worried about the impact on the BBC.
‘However, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and we know there will be lessons we can learn to ensure we have the strongest possible workplace culture.
‘I very much welcome the proposed actions that the Chair outlined in his recent email, and I want to thank everyone for their calm support as we have navigated a tough situation.
‘Our aim should be to act fairly, in line with our Values, and work to build trust.
‘Personally, on my watch, building a positive culture and making the BBC a great place to work is a critical priority.
‘I know that many people are proud of their teams and feel they are working in a supportive and positive environment. We must make that universal.’
In August, the BBC asked him to hand back the £200,000 salary he earned after being arrested.
The corporation knew the presenter had been arrested last November but continued to pay his salary until he resigned on medical advice this April.
A BBC spokesperson said after its former broadcaster was sentenced: ‘We are appalled by his crimes. He has betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him.’
There has been criticism in some quarters over the decision not to hand Edwards a prison sentence when many people involved in recent far-right rioting had been jailed.
The court was taken through details of Edwards’s mental health history, with reference made to one report by a consultant psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist that recorded Edwards took two months of sick leave ‘following an anonymous denunciation’ in 2018.
The disgraced BBC News star’s remorse and prison overcrowding could also have been considerations that counted in his favour.
