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Hugh Edwards, who was photographed in January 2020, has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.
London
CNN
—
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Monday that former BBC news presenter Hugh Edwards has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.
A police spokesman said the charges relate to alleged images shared via WhatsApp.
Police said in a statement that they had charged Edwards, a former BBC News presenter, last month. He was arrested in November last year, police said.
The statement said: “The crimes, which allegedly took place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared via WhatsApp chat.”
Edwards was arrested on 8 November 2023. He was charged on Wednesday 26 June following permission from the Crown Prosecution Service.
Edwards is accused of possessing six category A images – the most serious category in English law – 12 category B images and 19 category C images on WhatsApp. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 10 years.
The 62-year-old is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday, police said, urging the media and members of the public not to publish information on social media or elsewhere that could prejudice future court proceedings.
Edwards resigned from the BBC in late April after a 40-year career during which he became one of the most recognisable faces in British television news.
The BBC’s annual report, published last week, revealed that Edwards was paid between £475,000 ($610,000) and £479,000 ($616,000) between April 2023 and March 2024. He was the BBC’s third-highest-paid employee during that period.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”