Huw Edwards’ ex-BBC colleague Emily Maitlis says she is ‘horrified’ and left ‘absolutely speechless’ after he was convicted of accessing child abuse images

Former Newsnight host Emily Maitlis has said she was left ‘absolutely speechless’ by shamed BBC News presenter Huw Edwards‘ child abuse image offences.

Edwards, 63, avoided jail on Monday after being given a suspended six-month prison sentence, after he admitted to having 41 indecent images of children.

The vile picture collection included seven category A images, the most serious classification, with two involving a child aged around seven to nine.

Maitlis, 54, who worked with Edwards at the BBC, said she was ‘horrified’ at his crimes.

‘I’m horrified. I think we’re all horrified. I worked with Huw on elections,’ she told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday. ‘I’d say hi to him. He’d do the 10 O’Clock News finish, I’d do Newsnight. I was absolutely… speechless. I think it’s a real deep breath moment.’

Edwards, 63, avoided jail on Monday after being given a suspended six-month prison sentence, after he admitted to having 41 indecent images of children 

Maitlis, who worked for the BBC for more than two decades, has previously been critical about the corporation’s handling of claims against Edwards. 

She said allegations against him from staff should have been reported to HR ‘rather than turned’ into a news story. 

Her comments came after Newsnight reported that one current and former BBC employee said they received ‘inappropriate messages’ from Edwards with ‘some late at night and signed off with kisses’. 

‘There is something a bit distasteful,’ Maitlis said on The News Agents podcast. ‘If you know this stuff about a colleague, why isn’t your first duty to then go to HR or a senior manager… or to say I think this is going on…rather than to turn it into a news story.’

Jon Sopel previously defended his former BBC colleague Edwards after he was named as the presenter who allegedly paid a young person, over 18, for sexually explicit images.

‘Look I think it’s been a brutal time for him,’ Sopel told LBC in July last year. ‘There was no criminality and if there was no criminality, which we have had confirmed by the Metropolitan Police, what are you left with?’

Disgraced BBC News presenter Edwards was spared jail on Monday, receiving six months in prison suspended for two years- to the anger of many.

He sent more than £1,000 to Alex Williams, who in turn sent him porn, some of which he called ‘amazing’. 

University graduate Williams, 25, was living with his mother and step-father at a housing association property in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, at the time of his arrest.

He later pleaded guilty to seven offences of possessing and distributing indecent offences but escaped with a 12-month suspended sentence.

Edwards told Williams ‘go on’ when asked if he wanted ‘naughty pics and vids’ of somebody described as young.

The former newsreader also wrote ‘yes xxx’ when he was asked by the convicted paedophile if he wanted sexual images of a person whose ‘age could be discerned as being between 14 and 16’.

He was also sent two pornographic videos of a child aged between seven and nine-years-old.

Edwards, who resigned from the BBC in April, has been asked to repay the £200,000 salary he has received since his arrest. He has so far refused and will also keep his pension.

BBC boss Tim Davie defended the decision to continue paying him after his arrest but confirmed the shamed presenter will not work for the broadcaster again following his ‘appalling’ child-abuse crimes.

Mr Davie claimed the reason Edwards was not sacked upon being arrested was due to BBC guidelines.

The former newsreader, 63, avoided jail on Monday after being given a suspended six-month prison sentence, after he admitted to having 41 indecent images of children 

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday how Huw Edwards had replied ‘yes xxx’ when asked if he wanted a set of indecent images of children (note: This is not the actual text message exchange) 

It was also told that Edwards had told Williams that ages ‘can be deceptive’ when told one of the subjects in an image was ‘quite yng looking’, before asking if he had ‘any more? (note: This is not the actual text message exchange)

‘We wrestled with this – it was an extremely tough decision,’ he said. ‘We decided that, you know, pay continues until somebody’s charged. No one knew that gap was going to be so long.’

He added it was the ‘right decision’ but said the organisation would continue to pursue Edwards to pay back the money paid while he was suspended.

Mr Davie was immediately asked about the Edwards affair during his 25-minute discussion with BBC journalist Amol Rajan at the Royal Television Society (RTS) London conference.

Wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt and trainers, he said: ‘There’s no doubt that an affair like this impacts our reputation. I think people are smart, and they’ll make their judgments.

‘I think, overall, there’s no doubt about that – these things impact your reputation, but you can maintain trust by doing the right thing.’

Asked if Edwards would work for the BBC again, Mr Davie said: ‘I can’t see that… for obvious reasons.’

Pushed to expand, he added: ‘This man has just been convicted of appalling crimes. It’s pretty straightforward in my mind – it’s not a difficult question.’

Mr Davie said: ‘The secret life this guy was leading was shocking.’

Edwards was ordered to pay £3,000 in prosecution costs. It remains unclear whether he will have to pay back the £200,000 he was paid by the BBC between his arrest and his resignation in April.

Corporation director general Mr Davie confirmed that a formal request for the money to be returned has been made to Edwards, who was in a pay bracket of between £475,000 and £479,999 for 2023/24.

Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court

Edwards made his way through the media melee before being driven away in a black Mercedes when at court on July 31

Mr Davie told the conference: ‘We want the money back and we’ve asked for it back, and we’re waiting to hear back.

‘There are discussions between the legal teams.’

The BBC said in a statement that Edwards had betrayed not just the corporation but millions of viewers who had put their trust in him.

Edwards’ offending came to light after South Wales police seized Williams’ phone and discovered his WhatsApp conversations with the former BBC anchorman.

He was arrested on November 8 last year. The investigation was unrelated to allegations reported in July 2023 that Edwards had paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexual images.

Mr Davie said that victims’ families are the ‘primary concern’ and said that young people who raised concerns over Edwards were ‘taken seriously’ at the time allegations were made.

He said: ‘We’re just shocked, and there’s a lot of upset because across the BBC, we’ve got great teams, good people and they feel deeply, deeply let down.’