EXCLUSIVE NEWS: ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ slammed by BBC boss for not paying back ยฃ200k wage
A BBC boss has demanded Huw Edwards pay back his ยฃ200,000 salary (Image: Getty)
BBC chairman Dr Samir Shah has lashed out at Huw Edwards for refusing to pay back his ยฃ200,000 salary. The BBC had previously urged Edwards to return the money he was paid by corporation between his arrest in November 2023 and resignation six months later. The disgraced broadcaster, who was once one of the BBC’s highest-paid newsreaders, received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in September 2024 after he admitted to making indecent images of children.
Dr Shah has now reiterated his demand for Edwards, 64, to repay the sum, saying the BBC has not “abandoned hope” of getting the money back and that it belongs to license fee payers. Speaking before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Dr Shah said: “Iโve already said that I think Huw Edwards ought to return the money, he hasnโt done so. I read that heโs seeking some kind of redemption.
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“I think one very good step in that if he has an ounce of moral rectitude, he would return the money. He hasnโt done so, I think he should.”
Dr Shah said “the serious amount of money belongs to the licence payer,” adding: “He really should give it back, and we will keep pushing him to do so. I would think the licence payer would want us to do that.”
Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 2024 and was charged in June 2024 after the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation.
He pleaded guilty to possessing 41 indecent images of children sent to him via WhatsApp, which included seven Category A images, the most extreme and serious classification.
Last month, the former newsreader was slammed for joining the subscription platform Substack in an attempt to rebuild “some kind of worthwhile life”.
Edwards pleaded guilty to possessing 41 indecent images of children (Image: Getty)
He said his articles would “offer thoughts on matters of national and local interest” and “address mental health”, adding: “I am also ready to be unflinchingly honest about the reality of long-term mental illness”.
Although the majority of creators on the platform charge for access to their work, he claimed to have “no plans for paid subscriptions”.
The move drew widespread criticism, with some arguing it demonstrated a “staggering lack of awareness”, while child sexual abuse campaigners condemned it as disrespectful.
