Disgraced BBC News anchor Huw Edwards has been charged with making indecent images of children, UK police said.
The host of the BBC’s flagship “News at Ten” program — and one of the most recognizable faces on British TV — faces three charges over alleged activity between December 2020 and April 2022, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Edwards — a father of five who remained the national broadcaster’s top-earning news anchor even after he quit in disgrace — is charged over nearly 40 photographs he allegedly had on WhatsApp.
Edwards is accused of having six category A images — explicit material involving penetration — as well as 12 category B pictures and 19 category C photographs, which are images involving erotic posing.
He potentially faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The veteran journalist, 62, who quit the BBC after 40 years in April 2023, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday morning.
If found guilty, the married father of five could receive a maximum penalty of six months in prison and an unlimited fine.
Edwards was arrested on Nov. 8, 2023 and charged on June 26, 2024.
“Huw Edwards, 62, of Southwark, London has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children following a Met Police investigation,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman told The Post in a statement.
“The offenses, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat.”
It comes less than a week after the BBC published their 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 rise last year — despite being suspended for most of that time.
The Welsh newsreader was last year unmasked by his wife Vicky Flind as the mystery broadcaster who allegedly paid more than $45,000 to a teenager for sexually explicit photos.
In a statement issued on Edwards’ behalf to the UK Press Association, Flind said, “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.”
“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children,” she said in July 2023.
Edwards, who joined the BBC in 1984, has been the face of its news broadcasts for several years.
During his time fronting the network’s “News At Ten” for 20 years, Edwards’ high-profile coverage included a slew of landmark royal events such as the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the funeral of Prince Philip, the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
