BBC boss gives three-word ultimatum to Huw Edwards over £200,000 payment
Edwards made over £200,000 in the five-month period he was under arrest
Huw Edwards has been publicly asked to hand back part of his BBC salary from the five months he was under arrest. The BBC chairman, Samir Shah, confessed they had repeatedly asked him to hand back over £200,000 and called for the disgraced star to "give it back".
Edwards made more than £200,000 following his arrest on three counts of making indecent images of children. In August last year the corporation announced they had asked him to return it but they have not yet been returned the money.
The BBC's annual report for the period in question, April 2023 to April 2024, states Edwards received a salary of between £475,000 and £479,999.
Talking on Times Radio on Saturday, May 3, Samir said: "Frankly, if Huw is listening to this: Give it back Huw, just give it back. Really, just give it back. You know you should and you should do it."
"We've been asking him and asking him and asking him … we're getting legal advice on it." For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
Samir was also asked about an independent report into the Edwards scandal which was released last week. The Change Associates review found the BBC had rewarded "bullies" and protected "untouchable stars".
In response, Samir said: "The point to make is that nobody, nobody, in the BBC is irreplaceable and I think one of the best recommendations - there are many good actions - one of them was to have a succession plan in place.
"There's always a number two. So if they go, fine, we've got somebody else in place to replace them. No one is untouchable, no one is irreplaceable. I think the problem here is to persuade staff who do feel like that to have the confidence to speak up."
Edwards was suspended from his BBC duties in July 2023 when The Sun first reported on the story. He was arrested four months later in the November and he later resigned from the corporation in April 2024.
It has been confirmed by the BBC that he was not paid off as part of his resignation.
After pleading guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court to all charges on July 31, 2024, Edwards was subsequently given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and placed on the sex offenders' register.
The BBC said at the time: "We are appalled by his crimes. He has betrayed not just the BBC, but audiences who put their trust in him."
In August last year it was announced Edwards would become the first person to be stripped of his membership of the Gorsedd of the Bards, one of the highest accolades in Welsh public life.