Huw Edwards deletes his new ‘comeback’ Facebook account with broody skilled portrait after fury from victims’ households and MPs
Disgraced Huw Edwards has deleted his new ‘comeback’ Facebook account amid a backlash from the families of victims and MPs.
The former BBC newsreader, 64, removed his account last night after the new social media page prompted speculation of an audacious return to public life.
Talk of a return increased after the Daily Mail exclusively revealed he had updated his Facebook account with a brooding black-and-white self-portrait.
He began posting updates to his official Facebook page in October after being absent from public life since being convicted of possessing child abuse images.
His page featured his self-portrait, a picture with his mother Aerona Protheroe, 88, drinking champagne, and an image of what appears to be the Welsh countryside.
Since posting the portrait, Edwards’ Facebook account has been bombarded with angry messages.
One follower said: ‘Surely he can’t think that a well-lit headshot and a scrap of stubble will soften the memory of everything that’s happened.’
He was given a six-month suspended jail sentence following a year of headlines which began when he was named as the presenter at the heart of a scandal over payments to a young person for sexually explicit images.
Edwards began posting updates to his official Facebook page in October after being absent from public life since allegations against him were first published in July 2023
Edwards’ photo with his mum Aerona Protheroe, without a caption, led to several supportive comments from fans
Edwards last year landed a six month suspended sentence after investigations into the newsreader found he had been communicating with another adult male in a sexual manner
Police discovered Edwards was giving him gifts and money, and that within their chat there were numerous sexually explicit images, including 41 indecent images of children as young as seven years old.
These included both still and moving images, and were made up of seven of the most serious Category A, 12 Category B and 22 Category C.
Despite his crimes, he still appears to have a loyal fan base eagerly awaiting a possible return to the limelight as dozens of fans, including church leaders and academics, rushed to praise him.
After publishing his headshot on November 30, Edwards has been liking comments seemingly in support of his return to the limelight.
A follower said: ‘Good luck for the future, Huw.’
Before updating his verified Facebook page, Bridgend-born Edwards had kept firmly out of the public eye.
The stepfather of the teen Edwards groomed told The Sun: ‘If he thinks he can just put up a picture of himself and it’s going to change the way people think about him, he’s wrong.
‘He’s scum.’
He was last seen in public in August with a new white beard and glasses with a black trim holding three mini bottles of Prosecco as he walked to his car in Swansea, South Wales.
He had been attempting to sell the £4.75m family home which has now been taken off the estate agent’s website.
He is also understood to be in the process of being divorced by his wife Vicky Flind.
Daily Mail has approached Edwards’ lawyers for comment.
