Josie Gibson’s ‘blood boiling’ over BBC paying Huw Edwards’ £479,000 salary

Josie Gibson has shared her fury over the BBC paying Huw Edwards a salary between £475,000 and £479,000 before he resigned from the corporation in April.

The veteran broadcaster, 62, pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday to making indecent images of children, after he committed three offences between December 2020 and April 2021.

He admitted accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven after a man he met online sent him hundreds of sexual images on WhatsApp.

It has since emerged that the BBC knew of his arrest in November, on ‘suspicion of serious offences’, but continued employing him until April, when he resigned on medical advice.

Before his departure, he was paid between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023/24, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.

This last salary marked a £40,000 pay rise from 2022/23, when he was paid between £435,000 and 439,999.

Speaking on Thursday’s This Morning, Josie said: ‘It makes my blood boil, my absolute blood boil.’

Talking about the charges against Edwards, she added: ‘As a mother, it makes my stomach turn.’

As the discussion turned towards his salary, Tim Campbell explained: ‘It’s really difficult, as an employer you’re sometimes faced with disciplinary processes which mean you may have to suspend an individual while an investigation is going on, and the headline figures around paying someone can be very inflammatory because nobody wants to see someone who has now admitted guilt receiving tax-payer’s money.’

Josie then repeated the charges, which involve indecent images of one child under nine, before saying: ‘I’m fuming.’

‘I agree with Josie, it’s really disturbing,’ co-host Craig Doyle added, urging for a new clause that would allow a portion of the salary to be returned.

The court heard that Edwards had been involved in online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The bulk of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period.

On February 2, 2021 the male asked whether what he was sending was too young, in response to which Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court heard.

The indecent images that were sent included seven category A, the worst, 12 category B, and 22 category C.

Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy.

The man told Edwards that the boy was quite young looking, and that he had more images which were illegal.

Edwards told him not to send any illegal images, the court was told.

No more were sent, and the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

The BBC has said that if Edwards had been charged while he was still an employee it would have sacked him, but at the point of charge in June he no longer worked for the corporation.

After his guilty plea on Wednesday, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.

‘At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.’

The corporation added: ‘The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.

‘Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court.

‘If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.

‘During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.’

At the time the annual report was published, BBC director-general Tim Davie  defended Edwards’ £40,000 pay rise, saying: ‘We are always trying to be very judicious with the spending of public money and no-one wants to waste a pound.

‘But what you’re trying to do, and from the onset of that affair, was trying to act proportionally, fairly and navigate this appropriately.

‘I think that’s what we did… but I think we wouldn’t have wasted money if we weren’t doing the right thing.’

Davie is now set to face questions from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy about what the corporation knew about Edwards’ case, and questions will likely be raised about why he continued to receive his large salary – as the highest paid newsreader at the corporation – for five months after his arrest on charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Edwards was bailed after pleading guilty on Wednesday and will next appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 16.