Huw Edwards, previously the BBC’s top news presenter, has confessed to three charges related to possessing indecent images of children.

In court at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, it was revealed that Edwards had received 41 such images via WhatsApp from another individual. Among these were seven category A images, the highest level of severity, including two depicting a child approximately aged seven to nine. Edwards was a prominent figure on BBC One’s News at Ten and frequently led major national news coverage until last year.

He was arrested last November and charged last month. He will be sentenced on 16 September and a probation report will be compiled.

Edwards was escorted by police officers and surrounded by photographers as he entered and exited the court on Wednesday. He maintained a blank expression both outside and during the brief hearing, which lasted less than 30 minutes. As the charges were read to him, he responded with three quiet and calm “guilty” pleas.

The court was informed that Edwards had been engaged in online communication via WhatsApp with an adult man since December 2020. The man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, including 41 indecent images of children. Under the law, these images include both videos and still pictures. The Crown Prosecution Service reported that most of the category A images depicted children aged between 13 and 15, with two clips showing a child approximately seven to nine years old. Category A images involve serious abuse, including penetrative sexual activity.

Additionally, Edwards possessed 12 category B images, which depict non-penetrative sexual activity, and 22 category C photographs, which show other indecent images. The category B and C pictures featured children aged between 12 and 15. On February 2, 2021, the man inquired if the images he was sending were too young, and Edwards requested that no underage images be sent.

The last indecent image sent was a category A video featuring a young boy, shared in August 2021. The man informed Edwards that the boy appeared quite young and mentioned he had additional illegal images. Edwards instructed him not to send any more illegal content. Following this, no further illegal images were exchanged, and the two continued to share legal pornographic material until April 2022.

The Crown Prosecution Service noted that the legal definition of making indecent images is broad and includes receiving such images via social media. Edwards’s barrister, Philip Evans KC, clarified that there was no evidence suggesting Edwards had created any images himself. Evans also stated that Edwards did not keep, distribute, or seek out similar images. He described Edwards as having faced significant mental and physical health challenges and emphasized that Edwards was not only of good character but of exceptional character.

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