Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards has been charged with making indecent images of children, police said on Monday.
The 62-year-old newsreader, who left the corporation in April, faces three charges over alleged criminal activity which took place between December 2020 and April 2022.
According to the charge sheet, the Welsh journalist is accused of having six category A images, 12 category B pictures, and 19 category C photographs on WhatsApp.
He is due in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and, if found guilty, could receive a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Mr. Edwards was one of the the most recognisable faces on British TV having presented the BBC “News at Ten” for two decades.
The journalist announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II to the nation on the BBC as well as presiding over her funeral for the corporation.
He also fronted the broadcast of her successor, King Charles’s coronation last year, as well as the weddings of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now the Prince and Princess of Wales) in 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018, and the funeral of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2021.
Before he formally stepped down earlier this year, he was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, earning somewhere between £475,000 and £479,999 for the year 2023 to 2024.
During that time he spent 160 days on air, according to the BBC’s latest annual report.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Huw Edwards, 62, of Southwark, London, has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children following a Met Police investigation.
“The offences, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat.
“Edwards was arrested on November 8 2023. He was charged on Wednesday June 26 following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
“He has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday July 31.
“Media and the public are strongly reminded that this is an active case.
“Nothing should be published, including on social media, which could prejudice future court proceedings.”
