Piers Morgan blasts BBC over handing of Huw Edwards case

Huw Edwards was named by his wife Vicky Flind on Wednesday as the suspended BBC presenter after days of speculation. The public broadcaster chose to protect his identity, leading to three in five Express.co.uk readers saying the BBC handled the situation badly, a new poll has shown.

Ms Flind chose to identify her husband as the presenter alleged to have paid a young person for sexually explicit photos. She said she did so “primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children”.

Presenter Jeremy Vine praised her “courageous” decision, telling the Daily Mail: “What Flind has done – identifying her own husband and finally putting an end to the malicious speculation – is therefore not only extremely courageous, it is also exemplary from a moral point of view.”

In a poll that ran from 10.30am on Thursday, July 13, to 11am on Friday, July 14, Express.co.uk asked readers: “Did the BBC handle the Huw Edwards claims badly?”

A total of 1,330 readers responded with the vast majority, 64 percent (846 people), answering “yes, they should have named him”. While 32 percent (421 people) said “no, they were right to protect him” and a further 63 people said they did not know.

READ MORE: Ex-BBC presenter blasts ‘distasteful’ investigation into Huw Edwards

The Metropolitan Police ended its assessment on Wednesday, with detectives concluding that there was no indication that Mr Edwards had committed a criminal offence. This allowed the BBC to resume its internal investigation.

A spokesperson for the public broadcaster said: “The police had previously asked us to pause our fact-finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”

Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner said that the BBC needs to be “transparent” about its complaints procedures. She told Sky News: “I would say being transparent about how your processes work so people understand there is a process and how that operates would help in terms of giving people confidence they are robust in the way they deal with these complaints.”

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During business questions in the House of Commons on Thursday, Reclaim Party MP Andrew Bridgen called for a debate into the culture of the public broadcaster.

Reclaim Party MP Andrew Bridgen said: “Once again the BBC finds itself mired in scandal, sleaze and cover-up. So can we have a debate on the BBC?”

The MP for North West Leicestershire said that a discussion was needed on whether the culture had changed after promises “some years ago” to determine whether it is “actually fit to be the nation’s self-appointed arbiter of truth and transparency”.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt replied: “ I think there are many matters related to the BBC of concern to members across this House. We frequently have the BBC – whether it is local radio or the BBC Singers, or indeed, standards and ethics and professional competence and such questions – raised. I am sure it will be a well-attended debate.”

Senior figures at the BBC will face questions about the handling of the story next week as part of a pre-existing Parliament committee session.

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