The wife of newsreader Huw Edwards has said he is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is receiving “in-patient hospital care” as she named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.
After intense speculation as to the identity of the BBC presenter at the centre of the allegations, Vicky Flind said in a statement that she was speaking out on her husband’s behalf after “what have been five extremely difficult days for our family”.
Following the name reveal, the BBC and The Sun have both faced criticism for the handling of the events of the last few days, with colleagues and high-profile media personalities speaking out in support of Edwards on Wednesday night.
The Metropolitan Police said no criminal offence had been committed by the presenter, adding: “There is no further police action.
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“As such, the Met has advised the BBC it can continue with its internal investigation.”
The statement added: “We are aware of media reporting of further allegations against the same individual.
“No specific details or information about these allegations have been passed to us and therefore there is no police action at this time.”
Now that the speculation about who the previously unnamed presenter was you would hope that the public and social media especially would allow Edwards himself and his family to deal with what is sure to be a distressing situation privately.
Sadly though we cannot say that this is the case. Much like the OceanGate submarine tragedy the internet has managed to find a dark sense of humour in another wise serious situation involving real people.
Yet you've only got to spend a few moments on Twitter, which continues its downward trajectory under Elon Musk, to be confronted with jokes about Huw Edwards, which were even prevalent on the platform prior to him being named as the presenter in question.
Given that Edwards is now receiving hospital care because of the serious mental fatigue the story has placed upon him you'd hope that some people could afford to show a slight bit of dignity and not make any jokes that may further impact his condition or the other people involved in this story.
Also there are better things to make jokes about at this time so maybe rather than add to the stress instead take some time to read the many statements of support offered to Edwards from his colleagues and peers.
It's very easy to engage with big topics like this on social media but at the end of the day numerous real people, some only by association, are involved in this and likely still processing what happend. Allow them to deal with this in peace and for the right course of action to be taken, instead of creating cheap puns just for a few likes.
Additional reporting by PA.
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