BBC boss Tim Davie admits he knew Huw Edwards' arrest was over the most serious level of indecent images of children, but continued to pay the paedophile presenter £200,000 until he quit. The BBC boss said the police had requested confidentiality.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today urged Huw Edwards to return the £200,000 salary he was paid by the BBC after being arrested over child pornography offences.
Ms Nandy told Sky News this morning: 'I think he ought to return his salary. I think having been arrested on such serious charges all the way back in November... Now, Ms Nandy has asked the BBC to look into whether it can recoup money from Edwards's pay packet if he will not give it back - and its director-general Tim Davie said the corporation is considering legal action to get back some of his payments.
Unfortunately, because Huw Edward's employment continued until April 2024 - when he resigned - the BBC would have no automatic right to recoup any payments made to him up to this point. 'Had the BBC taken action when they first found out about the allegations they could potentially have run a parallel disciplinary investigation and - depending on the outcome - dismissed him.
Ian Jones, director and principal solicitor at Spencer Shaw Solicitors in Birmingham, said the concept of recovering either the pay or pension 'seems to be a political reaction without knowledge of the complexities of employment or pension law'. The images range from the most serious category, known as category A, to the least serious, known as Category C.Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.The Sentencing Council, a public body sponsored by the Ministry Of Justice, defines category A images as those involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal, or sadism.
Sentencing guidelines set the starting point for any jail term for possession of a Category A image at 12 months, with a range of 26 weeks to three years.Aggravating features to be taken into account for Edwards include that the images included moving images, and the young age of the child thought to be seven to nine years old in two of the category A images.
He said that most employers do await the outcome of the criminal process, because they could face claims for unfair dismissal if the proceedings do not result in a conviction. Another employment law specialist said she cannot see any legal basis for the BBC trying to recoup salary and pension contributions, unless there is something in the contract entitling them to.
'However, an employer will have to consider the matter very carefully before determining that it can dismiss an employee not yet convicted by virtue of their alleged criminal conduct. The cases include when a pension scheme member has been convicted of treason or of offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 and 1939 and has been sentenced to at least ten years in jail.
She said: 'I think we all recognise there is a job of work to do, to get more information in the public domain, to reassure people, not just about the decisions that have been made but also about the action that the BBC will take going forwards. The DCMS statement added that Ms Nandy 'sought assurance that the BBC has robust processes in place regarding non-editorial complaints, and the handling of complex contractual matters, so that in future it can act at pace and be transparent with the public at the earliest opportunity to ensure trust is maintained'.
Mr Davie said there was a 'very small group of people at the centre' who knew and they had a 'very restricted list of names'. 'And it was difficult but when the police, if you think about this in terms of precedent, people do get arrested and then we've had situations where no charges and there's nothing there to be followed up on.'
Read More BBC accused of sitting on Huw Edwards internal inquiry 'I think it was right for us to say, 'Look, we'll let the police do their business, and then when charges happen, we will act'.' Read MoreEXCLUSIVE How Huw Edwards gamed the system - playing the mental health card and using his vast salary He accused the Edwards of putting the corporation in 'an impossible position' and said he should repay the wages he received since his arrest if he has 'a shred of decency'.
'The BBC has tried to be honourable in the way it has handled this. He has been dishonourable and shabby in his response.' Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine said the BBC should clarify if it had asked Edwards if he was guilty when it was made aware of his arrest.
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