By Lucy Caulkett-
Huw Edwards “felt let down” by The Sun’s reporting and was “furious” by its coverage, according to a BBC correspondent.
Jon Sopel, who has known the presenter at the centre of the latest allegations for over three decades, said the suspended television presenter is unhappy about the coverage on both The Sun .
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“We’ve had contact. Obviously not since he’s been hospitalised, He was very angry,” he said.
Sopel also said Edwards was not “overly impressed with the BBC’s coverage” of the allegations.
“He is incredibly funny, he’s got an acid wit. He could be a complicated person to deal with,” he said.
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“If you are entering Huw’s orbit, he’s very defensive of his own territory”.
The Sun published allegations against the presenter that he paid a young person £35,000 for explicit photos.
In a statement released yesterday, Edwards’s wife blew his cover, and said the star was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and was receiving in-patient hospital care, where he’ll stay for the “foreseeable future”.
The BBC has been criticised by some for apparently defending the presenter, and acting late in suspending the presenter following the allegations, and for refusing to identifying him following revelations by The Sun newspaper.
Some analysts believe the BBC may have acted slowly because it considered the actions of Mr Edwards to have been immoral but not illegal
However, no criminality was found by police when they investigated, as cops said there was no evidence of a crime in relation to the television presenter’s payment for explicit photos.
Edwards, 61, is one of Britain’s best-known and prominent news broadcasters, lead anchor on the BBC’s night time news and the face of its election coverage. He led BBC coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
Latest figures released on Tuesday confirmed his six-figure salary as being between £435,000 and £439,999 a year, making him the highest-paid journalist at the corporation.
The father of five said in a 2021 documentary that depression had left him bedridden for periods over two decades.
BBC chief Tim Davie is to be questioned in parliament about the corporation’s leadership following the allegations made against Huw Edwards.
The director-general will be joined by acting chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens and policy director Clare Sumner, who have also been called to appear before the Lords Communications Committee on Tuesday.
The latest crisis facing the BBC cast minds back to past scandals and controversies including that of Jeremy Saville, and Martin Bashir.
The BBC said it would continue its investigations.
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