Paedo who sent child sex images to Huw Edwards on WhatsApp is identified as Alex Williams after presenter’s guilty plea
THE paedophile who shared indecent images of children with Huw Edwards has been revealed as Alex Williams following the presenter's guilty plea.
Ex-BBC news anchor Edwards, 62, today admitted being sent a string of child sex images - including sexual videos of a boy as young as seven.
Edwards received the pictures on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
It has now been revealed that Alex Williams, 25, from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, shared the images with Edwards via WhatsApp.
Convicted paedophile Williams previously pleaded guilty to a string of child sex offences.
The force said the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing category A, B and C images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
He was sentenced to a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on March 15.
Cops said an investigation into Edwards began after a phone seized by officers as part of an unrelated probe revealed the broadcaster's participation in a WhatsApp conversation with Williams.
Edwards showed no emotion today as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Westminster Magistrates' Court was told seven of the 41 images fall under Category A - the most serious classification.
This included two moving images of a young boy, possibly aged seven and nine years old.
He also had photos of other children aged between 13 and 15 stored on his phone.
A further 12 images were classed as Category B and 19 as Category C.
The ex-presenter could face a maximum of ten years in prison when he is sentenced on September 16.
Prosecutor Ian Hope stressed Edwards had not created any of the images himself.
The charge of making indecent images can mean opening an email attachment, downloading a picture or receiving an image via social media - even if unsolicited or as part of a group chat.
He said the newsreader was involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021.
During this time, the man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.
The BBC today admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested in November while the newsreader was suspended.
This means the star - one of the BBC's highest-paid presenters - continued to receive his £475,000 salary.
Edwards quit the BBC in April after 40 years reporting on some of the world's biggest stories.
This included leading coverage of the Queen's funeral and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
At the time of the offences, Edwards fronted coverage of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021.
He also hosted a programme from Windsor Castle the night before the funeral, called HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Remembered.
How are indecent images defined and categorised?
Under section 1 of Protection of Children Act 1978, it is an offence to possess indecent photographs of children.
The images are categorised under three groups ranging from A - the most serious - to C.
- Category A: Explicit material involving penetration, sexual activity with an animal or sadism (deemed the most severe).
- Category B: Explicit material that is non-penetrative sexual activity (the mid-range in terms of seriousness).
- Category C: Explicit material involving erotic posing (the least severe).
Source: The CPS
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement today: “The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.
“The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.
“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.
"At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.
“Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court.
"If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.
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“During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.
“We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.”