HUW TOO ILL FOR SCANDAL PROBE
BBC apology to parents of teen in midst of the scandal
HUW Edwards remains too ill to respond to the BBC investigation into his conduct, it has emerged.
As the corporation apologised for its handling of the original complaint against the 62-year-old it was revealed he has not been interviewed to address the evidence gathered by investigators.
And after seven months off air, BBC bosses must now decide whether they can conclude their probe without hearing from him, in order to get on with naming his replacement as their chief news presenter.
Huw, who was suspended on full pay of more than €503,000 last July, is not expected to return to the Beeb.
His disappearance from screens was sparked by a complaint from the parents of a 19-year-old who claimed Edwards had paid £35,000 (€41k) for inappropriate images of the teen. Speaking via lawyers at the time, the young person at the centre of the controversy insisted to BBC News that reports about what happened were “rubbish”.
They added: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and [Huw].”
But yesterday the BBC said it had apologised to the couple who approached them in May, after a review into how complaints are handled.
At the time, BBC staff trying to verify the complaint had emailed and phoned but had received no response. Yesterday, BBC group chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva said the review by Deloitte had highlighted where improvements could be made.
She explained: “The initial complaint was not escalated quickly enough to senior management and we have apologised to the complainant for this.”
At the time the scandal emerged last summer, Huw’s wife Vicky Flind said that he was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and had been admitted to hospital for treatment.
She said his intention was to respond to the allegations once he had recovered. It is not clear whether the fatherof-five remains in hospital.
The initial complaint was not escalated quickly enough
BBC’S LEIGH TAVAZIVA ON FINDINGS OF REVIEW