Huw Edwards quits BBC on ‘medical advice’

He has been off air since last summer

The newsreader has been off air since last July when he was at the centre of newspaper reports claiming he paid a young person for sexually explicit images.

A statement from the broadcaster said: "Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC.

"After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors.

"The BBC has accepted his resignation which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don't believe it appropriate to comment further."

The corporations confirmed Edwards has not been paid off, BBC News reports.

In July year, the Sun reported that a high-profile figure at the BBC had paid a youngster £35,000 for explicit images, and initially reported that the payments began when he was 17, which is a criminal offence. The BBC suspended the then-unnamed presenter and the Met was notified. 

The paper's source for the story was the young person's mother and step-father, but the young person's lawyer later issued a letter on their client's behalf which described the claims as "rubbish."

The Met later confirmed there was "no information to indicate" that a criminal offence had been committed. After much speculation, Edwards' wife Vicky Flind confirmed he was the BBC figure at the centre of the story.

In a statement at the time, she said her husband was "suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future."

Flind said she issued a statement, “primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.”

Edwards has not publicly commented on the matter or his resignation.

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