Rupert Murdoch’s Information UK has provided tens of hundreds of kilos to the dad and mom who made allegations about Huw Edwards, in return for a tv interview, in accordance with sources on the media firm.
The Guardian understands that an interview with the couple has been recorded and is being edited for broadcast on TalkTV, the sister station of the Solar. Sources mentioned the dad and mom have been provided a big sum for this.
The dad and mom claimed their 20-year-old baby was taken benefit of by Edwards, 61, who they alleged paid the younger individual £35,000 in return for express footage. The police have concluded Edwards has no felony case to reply however an inside BBC inquiry is investigating the allegations and separate claims in opposition to the Information at Ten host.
03:31 How the allegations in opposition to Huw Edwards grew – video report
The Solar’s first story on the allegations, which prompted the BBC to droop Edwards from his £435,000-a-year job, mentioned the mom and stepfather in query had made “it clear they needed no cost” in return for bringing the accusations to the tabloid.
An editorial in Monday’s print version of the Solar emphasised that the problem was not about cash for the household: “They didn’t search any cost. They simply needed the funds harming their baby to cease.”
Edwards’ spouse, Vicky Flind, confirmed on Wednesday that he was the BBC presenter on the centre of the allegations, following 5 days of nameless accusations. She mentioned the presenter was in a hospital with psychological well being points.
Since then the Solar has pledged to dial again its reporting and mentioned it won’t search to interrupt additional tales on the subject.
A supply at Information UK mentioned the Solar had not made any monetary cost to the couple however confirmed that TalkTV was talking to them as a part of a deliberate three-part documentary sequence. The tv channel has a status for paying giant sums of cash to safe interviews.
The dad and mom, who haven’t been publicly recognized, couldn’t be reached for remark.
The Solar has rowed again on its preliminary suggestion that unlawful underage exercise might have taken place and insists its story was all the time about involved dad and mom. The 20-year-old on the coronary heart of the story has dismissed their mom and stepfather’s ideas of unlawful behaviour as “garbage”.
Information of the potential TalkTV interviews comes as BBC Information continues to analyze its personal star presenter. Sources within the BBC newsroom claimed the Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire had been “taking preliminary soundings” in relation to claims in opposition to Edwards within the days earlier than the Solar launched its authentic story.
On Wednesday night time Derbyshire made the primary allegations of potential wrongdoing within the office, with a narrative claiming Edwards had messaged three younger BBC staff, together with one who continues to be on the organisation. BBC Information journalists are understood to be engaged on additional potential tales on Edwards, even whereas the BBC’s company investigations conducts its personal parallel inquiry.
The BBC had already printed a separate story about Edwards – who was at that time nonetheless nameless – allegedly sending abusive and threatening messages to an individual he met on a courting app. The individual, of their 20s, is alleged to have hinted they might publish publicly in regards to the presenter.
The company has additionally acquired some criticism from buddies of Edwards over the protection of its most distinguished presenter. The previous BBC journalist Jon Sopel, now a bunch of the Information Brokers podcast, mentioned he had “been struck by what number of of my former BBC colleagues, some very senior, have been in contact to precise their anger and dismay at their very own protection of this”.
Sopel informed ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he had been in contact with Edwards for the reason that story broke and the suspended presenter was “not overly impressed” with the BBC’s protection of the incident.
The main target of the story is now shifting to the BBC’s inside investigation. A spokesperson for the BBC mentioned its official inquiry into Edwards would think about “truth discovering”, with the company additionally more likely to think about separate allegations of potential office misconduct that aren’t of a felony nature.
The BBC mentioned the main target could be on making certain due course of and a radical evaluation of the info whereas “persevering with to be aware of our obligation of care to all concerned”.
