LONDON – London police said on Wednesday they had found no evidence of a crime against a BBC presenter who allegedly paid a teenage boy to have his sexually explicit photos taken, but at the time the host’s wife has been publicly identified for the first time by veteran newscaster Hugh Edwards.
After discussions with the alleged victim and his parents, the Metropolitan Police Department decided to take no further action. Parents told The Sun last week that the mother paid the boy $35,000 from 2020, when he was £17 ($45,000), to the BBC in May, prompting the host to stay on the air. said it was allowed to
Speculation abounded about the presenter’s identity as the story topped the headlines in the UK all week, embroiling the BBC in a scandal. Several of the BBC’s prominent on-air personalities have publicly said otherwise, while others have urged anonymous hosts to come forward. Edward’s wife, Vicky Frind, released her husband’s name late Wednesday and said he was hospitalized with a serious mental illness.
She said Flind named him “mainly to protect his mental health and the children” after “a very difficult five days for our family”. “The events of the last few days made the situation even worse and he had another severe seizure and is currently being treated as an inpatient in hospital and will remain there for the foreseeable future,” she said.
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Edwards, 61, is one of the UK’s best-known and most respected news channels, the BBC’s evening news anchor and the face of election coverage. He led the BBC’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September. He earns at least £435,000 ($565,000) a year, making him one of the channel’s highest-paid stars. The father of five said in a 2021 documentary that he had been bedridden for more than 20 years due to depression.
The BBC said it would continue to investigate the matter.