BBC Boss Tim Davie Says Huw Edwards Won't Work for the BBC Again

BBC boss Tim Davie has said he can’t ever see disgraced ex anchor Huw Edwards working for the BBC again.

“I can’t see that happening for obvious reasons,” he said. He’s been “convicted of appalling crimes and it’s pretty straightforward.”

Beleaguered director general Davie made his first public remarks the morning after Edwards, once the highest paid news reporter at the corporation, was sentenced for making indecent images of children . The cache of illegal images, which included videos, were predominantly of children aged between 13 and 15 with one believed to feature as young as 7 also being abused.

The BBC has admitted it continued to pay Edwards, who went on sick last summer leave following an unrelated scandal involving a teenager, until April of this year when he resigned, despite bosses at the broadcaster being made aware he had been charged in relation to the indecent images last November.

The BBC is now urging Edwards to return £200,000 of his salary. Edwards has not yet agreed. “There’s discussions between legal teams but that’s as far as we can go at this point,” Davie said.

Davie made the remarks at the Royal Television Society conference in London on Tuesday morning, where he was being interviewed by BBC journalist Amol Rajan.

The corporation has been rocked by a number of scandals over recent months, including allegations about harassment behind the scenes at one of its most popular shows, “Strictly Come Dancing,” and continued questioning over its reporting of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Davie, who comes from a marketing background (including stints at PepsiCo Europe and Procter and Gamble) took on the role of director general in 2020. The director general role includes CEO of the BBC as well as its editor in chief.

Other speakers at the Royal Television Society conference, which this year is hosted by Netflix, include sports star David Beckham, culture secretary Lisa Nandy and Netflix boss Ted Sarandos .