The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has come under fire for failing to release details of Huw Edwards‘ child pornography images.
Edwards, 62, is due in court in central London today, having been accused of child porn offences after 37 indecent images were allegedly shared on a WhatsApp chat.
The ex-News at Ten presenter was charged in June, but the details were only revealed on Monday, after the date of his first court appearance was released by Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
A former attorney general said last night it was ‘very puzzling’ that the CPS did not publish details of the charges brought against Edwards around the time he was charged.
He added that the CPS’s actions did not seem ‘in accordance with’ the principles of open justice, The Telegraph first reported.
Edwards is seen walking through London’s Marylebone on June 17 last year with his ID tag
Edwards and his wife Vicky Flind, pictured in South London in 2018. They have five children
The CPS denied it had purposely suppressed details about the presenter being charged or given him preferential treatment.
A CPS spokesperson said: ‘Decisions on charging announcements are based on operational factors and no defendant receives preferential treatment.
‘Our handling of this case followed our normal procedures working in partnership with police colleagues.’
It comes amid reports that Edwards has split from his TV producer wife and moved out of the family home ahead of his court hearing.
Edwards is understood to have left the property in Dulwich, south London, which he shared with Vicky Flind.
The former presenter has instead been dividing his time between a home in Wandsworth, south-west London, and his native Wales.
He got engaged to Vicky in 1993, and the couple share three sons and two daughters.
Edwards got engaged to Vicky in 1993, and the couple share three sons and two daughters
Speaking of their split, a source told The Sun: ‘They separated quite a long time ago but have not announced it publicly.’
The source added: ‘Huw has been living elsewhere for a while.’
Edwards faces three counts of making indecent images of children relating to offences said to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, Scotland Yard revealed yesterday.
One former colleague and friend told MailOnline yesterday: ‘ Huw kept his arrest completely secret.’
They said that like everyone else they had seen the statement from the Met Police in July 2023 that said detectives had not found any evidence of criminal activity when the scandal broke and he was suspended from his job.
‘It turns out he was arrested four months later and nobody knew. I had no idea until he was charged’, the friend from the BBC said.
Another former colleague of the star said: ‘It’s a mess – and tragic for all concerned’.
The BBC was also blindsided by the criminal charges against its former star presenter Huw Edwards, with bosses only told of the allegations a few hours before they were made public, an insider claimed.
In April, Edwards resigned from the BBC on medical grounds and left without a payout. He then moved in with his mother in Wales.
Edwards is due in court in central London today, having been accused of child pornography offences after 37 indecent images were allegedly shared on a WhatsApp chat
But it has emerged that Edwards was arrested on November 8 last year and charged just over a month ago on June 26 following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
A BBC insider reportedly said the corporation only found out Edwards was facing criminal charges hours before it was made public, according to The Times.
Members of staff were rocked by the news, which they said senior management must have been unaware of.
A senior source told The Times: ‘The BBC was informed by the Met Police when a call came through [on Monday].’
