‘It’s ridiculous’, anger over Huw Edwards as experts criticise ‘two-tier justice’ and ask why he avoided jail for ‘appalling crime’ – The Sun

EXPERTS have criticised the “ridiculous” decision to allow Huw Edwards to escape prison and raised concerns about the “dual justice” in the courts.

The 63-year-old veteran presenter yesterday avoided jail at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was given a six-month suspended sentence for a two-year term.

Huw Edwards walked free as he left court yesterdayCredit: PA

Edwards' police photo has been released — Edwards’ police photo has been releasedCredit: PA

Susanna Reid was among those who questioned the sentence after Edwards was acquittedCredit: Rex

Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children after receiving 41 illegal images via WhatsApp from convicted paedophile Alex Williams.

The embattled newsreader could have been jailed for up to 12 months for the offences, but avoided prison despite admitting paying the paedophile around £1,500 for child sexual abuse images.

Seven of the images fell under category A, the most serious classification, and two were believed to involve a child between the ages of seven and nine.

Now Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command Centre within the National Crime Agency, has strongly criticised the conviction after widespread outrage.

Speaking to Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell, he said: “If Edwards came to your house tonight and said, look, I’ll tell you what, you’re going to the cinema tonight and I’m going to look after your young children, would you let him do that? Because that’s the question.

“You know, if you’re not going to let him babysit your kids, why would you let him babysit somebody else’s kids? So I think it’s time we wake up to this.

“These are not abstract images. They are images of children being abused and raped.”

Mr Gamble added that offenders like Edwards should be concerned that they would be “appropriately punished and that this would reduce crime.”

He also said he was “not surprised” by the judge’s decision to give Huw Edwards a suspended sentence, saying there was “no chance of him going to jail”.

Gamble added: “Less than 20 percent of people convicted of these types of offenses actually get a prison sentence. And that’s part of the problem, because we’re not creating active deterrence.

“I wasn’t surprised when people said to me, ‘Do you think he’s going to jail?’

“I think that given the sentencing guidelines and the mitigating circumstances that his lawyers presented to him, there was no chance that he would go to prison.

Disgusting reports, relentless abuse and a shocking cover-up – Huw Edwards’ depravity exposed in Sun documentary

“It is not about prisons being full, because this has been a persistent problem in sentencing for at least ten years.”

Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley agreed with Gamble’s concerns and criticised the decision to release Edwards.

He said: “Every image that the disgusting paedophile Edwards saw leaves a victim, a child who is the victim of sexual exploitation.

“And when people say: ‘Is this some kind of division in the judiciary?’, that doesn’t surprise me.

“For a man to be given the task of delivering the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death to the nation, and then to betray that public trust in such a colossal, appalling and disgusting way, and then walk away from court without any form of imprisonment, is utterly ridiculous.

“There is such a huge imbalance between what people should get as punishment and what they actually get.

“Especially someone who has made a fortune with government money, I hasten to add, walks out of court smugly, gets into a car and disappears to continue enjoying his freedom.”

Meanwhile, former Conservative MP and online campaigner Miriam Cates suggested there was now a two-tiered sentencing system in the courts.

She said: “As we have seen in recent weeks, courts are not afraid in principle to impose prison sentences for online crimes.

“But creating and sharing child abuse material is still too often seen as a ‘victimless crime’.”

‘SENSE IS A JOKE’

Grace Rose Gwynne called the sentence a “joke” and criticised Edwards’ apology about his mental health as “nonsense”.

She said: “I think the punishment is a joke because not only did he not block, he actively sought to ask for (indecent photos). He was offered ‘do you want young photos?’ if he said yes.

“I think the mitigating circumstances that were put forward on his behalf were also a joke. I’ve never dealt with a paedophilia case where they didn’t raise mental health as an issue, so for me it’s a cop-out.

“It is a disgrace to those who genuinely suffer from mental health issues and outrageous to say that just because of mental health issues it was effectively a gateway to his paedophilia. I think it is absolute nonsense.”

And Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, claimed the “public has lost confidence in our institutions” following the conviction.

He told The Telegraph: “This does not bode well for our criminal justice system, given that we have recently seen offenders given prison sentences for unpleasant things they said on social media.

“It’s no wonder the public has lost faith in our institutions. Something doesn’t feel right.”

Brendan Clarke-Smith, former children’s minister, added: “When such a high-profile public figure is given a non-custodial sentence for such an appalling crime it sends out completely the wrong message to other offenders.

“The public would surely wonder how this offence can avoid a prison sentence when others have recently been convicted for posting comments on social media.”

Behavioral pattern of a pedophile

By Scarlet Howes

Night after night he delivered the country’s most important news in an uncompromising manner, and his authoritative style won him numerous awards.

But outside his famous agency, Huw Edwards, as we have discovered, was a manipulative paedophile who used the same pattern of behaviour to satisfy his unbridled desires.

Some 437 days after The Sun’s shocking front page, Edwards appeared in court today to hear what had happened to him, leaving his once glittering career in ruins.

Our exclusive revelation that he paid a youth thousands of pounds for sexual photos made headlines around the world and set in motion a chain of events that plunged the BBC into crisis.

And Edwards, at the time the BBC’s highest-earning newsreader, never appeared on our screens again.

Today the court heard Edwards paid £1,500 to a young convicted paedophile for child pornography photos and videos which he described as “amazing”.

The case revolved around messages between sex offender Alex Williams, who was a teenager when they started a relationship, and 63-year-old Edwards.

Let’s be clear: the facts of that case have nothing to do with our original story.

But there are some disturbing similarities in his interactions with both young people – and a pattern of deeply troubling behaviour.

He contacted them through social media, sent them messages on WhatsApp, harassed them for photos and then gave them money.

Kisses were exchanged and Christmas presents were given.

The chilling thing is that he bought a pair of sneakers for both of them, who are decades younger.

And all that in exchange for sexually explicit photos.

The money was used as leverage on the men, one of whom was homeless and the other a student who could only dream of earning his top salary.

What The Sun discovered was a pattern of behavior. If we hadn’t done that, Edwards’ behavior might have gone unnoticed.

Susanna Reid was also among the prominent figures who expressed her shock at the “lenient” sentence Edwards received after his release.

The Good Morning Britain star said the suspended sentence was a “green flag” for other paedophiles.

She said: “At the heart of this case is a series of children who have suffered the most appalling abuse. I think everyone is asking why that is not punishable by a prison sentence.

“Huw Edwards did not take these images, he was not in the room, but he did receive them and anyone who receives them is therefore involved in a cycle of child abuse.

“I can’t understand why child abuse isn’t punished more severely and I think a lot of people will think that. this morning.”

In addition to his suspended sentence, Edwards must complete a 40-day sex offender treatment program and attend 25 rehabilitation sessions.

The court heard how Edwards received the images in a perverted WhatsApp chat from convicted paedophile Alex Williams.

Edwards had an online chat with the 25-year-old Williams between December 2020 and August 2021.

During that time, the paedophile sent Edwards 377 sexual images, 41 of which were indecent images of children, including two videos of a boy as young as seven.

Westminster Crown Court heard he paid between £1,000 and £1,500 for the photos, which he described as “amazing”.

It comes amid widespread outrage over Edwards’ £200,000 pay, after the BBC’s chief executive said “discussions are ongoing” about the possibility of reclaiming the money. The star has still not repaid the money despite asking for it.