BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has been suspended following allegations he paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images.
However, the young person at the centre of the controversy said nothing inappropriate or unlawful happened.
Here is how events have unfolded:
May 18th
The complainant, a family member, attended a BBC building, where they sought to make a complaint about the behaviour of Mr Edwards who initially was not publicly named and was referred to only as a “BBC presenter”.
May 19th
The complainant contacted BBC Audience Services and the details of this contact were referred to the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team.
The BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team assessed the information contained in the complaint provided from Audience Services.
The assessment made was that on the basis of the information provided, it did not include an allegation of criminality – but nonetheless merited further investigation.
The BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team emailed the complainant stating how seriously the BBC takes the issue and seeking additional information to verify the claims being made; there was no response to this contact.
Checks were also made to verify the identity of the complainant. The BBC said this is a standard procedure to confirm that the complainant is the person they say they are.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme with broadcaster Sarah Montague, director-general Tim Davie spoke about the initial complaint made to the corporation.
He said: “The facts are there that very simply the Corporate Investigations Team looked at the log – that is the summary of the call – we have clear records of an interaction that lasted 29 minutes.”
June 6th
Having received no response to the email referenced above, a phone call was made to the mobile number provided by the complainant by the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team; the call did not connect.
Following these attempts to make contact with the complainant, the Corporate Investigations Team was due to return to the matter in the coming weeks.
No additional attempts to contact the complainant were made after June 6th, however the case remained open throughout.
July 6th
The Sun newspaper informed the BBC via the Corporate Press Office of allegations concerning Mr Edwards.
The BBC said it became clear that the source of the claims was from the same family as approached the BBC on May 18th-19th.
This was the first time that the director-general or any executive directors at the BBC were aware of the case.
The claims made by The Sun contained new allegations that were different to the matters being considered by BBC Corporate Investigations.
When asked about the difference between the complaint on May 19th and the complaint made in The Sun story, Mr Davie said: “The process is that we did receive a call as you can see in the timeline on May 19th that was taken by Audience Services Team who then make a summary of the call and put it to our highly experienced Corporate Investigations team.
“On the basis of the information they had at that point, it did not include an allegation of criminality, but nonetheless was very serious and they wanted to follow it up, and you can see the attempts to follow it up on the timeline.
“It was serious but the key was their assessment was it did not include an allegation of criminality.
“When The Sun made new allegations on July 6th they were different to the matters considered by BBC Corporate Investigations and those new allegations clearly related to potential criminal activity, criminality, that in a nutshell is the difference.”
The BBC initiated an incident management group to lead the response to this case, involving senior BBC executives including the director-general.
The acting chairman was updated, and the board was regularly updated in the coming days.
A senior manager held the first conversation on this matter with the presenter concerned, to make him aware of the claims being outlined by The Sun.
It was agreed that Mr Edwards would not be on air while this matter was being considered.
Mr Davie also told the World At One he did not speak to the accused presenter on July 6th, but instead the conversation was conducted by a “senior manager”, which the director-general said was important in order for him to be able to oversee the process.
July 7th
Following The Sun’s contact, the BBC’s Corporate Investigations team contacted the complainant again, who was in touch with the BBC’s investigators.
The BBC’s Serious Case Management Framework (SCMF) was initiated and the investigation being undertaken by the Corporate Investigations Team was brought into the SCMF, which is chaired by a human resources director.
The BBC also made contact with the police with regard to this matter.
July 8th
The complainant sent the BBC some materials related to the complaint.
July 9th
The complainant continued to send the BBC materials to do with the complaint.
The BBC issued an update to staff and the media. The broadcaster also confirmed that it had suspended Mr Edwards.
July 10th
The BBC met with the police to report the matter and discuss how to progress the investigation.
The police requested that the BBC pause its investigations into the allegations while they scope future work.
July 11th
The BBC reported a second person felt threatened by messages they received from Mr Edwards.
According to the BBC, the person in their early 20s met Mr Edwards on a dating app before their conversations moved to other platforms.
He then revealed his identity and asked the young person not to tell anyone.
The young person later posted online alluding to having had contact with a BBC presenter and hinting they might name him.
Mr Edwards then sent a number of “threatening messages”, which the BBC says it has seen and confirmed came from a phone number belonging to him.
The BBC said the young person felt “threatened” by the messages and “remains scared”.
BBC News said it had contacted the Mr Edwards via his lawyer, but had received no response to the allegations.
July 12th
I’m starting to think the BBC Presenter involved in the scandal should now come forward publicly. These new allegations will result in yet more vitriol being thrown at perfectly innocent colleagues of his. And the BBC, which I’m sure he loves, is on its knees with this.
But it…— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) July 11, 2023
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine called on Mr Edwards to name himself publicly to prevent damage to the “BBC, his friends and those falsely-accused”.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak said that he “personally was concerned” by the “serious” allegations.
Vicky Flind, the wife of Mr Edwards, issues a statement naming her husband as the individual involved.
She said that he “was suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.
The Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police say that no criminal offence has been committed by Mr Edwards and neither force would currently be taking any further action in relation to the allegations.
The BBC announces it will resume its “fact-finding investigations” to ensure “due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved”.
