Huw Edwards live updates as former presenter pleads guilty to child images offences

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has admitted three offences of making indecent images of children with one featuring a child aged between seven and nine. Westminster Magistrates' Court heard Edwards, who left the BBC in April, admitted having 37 images on his WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2022.

The court heard one image found on Edwards' phone was of a child aged between seven and nine. 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 Mr 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. Mr 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.

Speaking in Edwards' defence his barrister Philip Evans KC said: "There's no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has... in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort. It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards' devices, have been seized,