Huw Edwards invited me to share his hotel room before Prince Philip's funeral, says young male TV worker

Huw Edwards suggested a inferior workfellow could enactment complete successful his BBC-funded edifice suite connected nan eve of Prince Philip's ceremonial and sent a image of nan room including nan bed, it was reported today.

The caller ex-Beeb worker said that nan newsreader reached retired and said location had been 'plenty of room' to enactment nan night.

Edwards allegedly urged nan unnamed TV worker to subordinate him - but nan young shaper declined because it would person breached strict Covid-19 restrictions that saw nan Queen sat unsocial astatine her husband's ceremonial successful St George's Chapel, Windsor.

The Sun claims that connected nan time earlier nan service, Edwards had texted to opportunity he was 'staying location overnight past each time Saturday', adding: 'If you’re astir tomorrow nighttime fto maine know'.

The adjacent morning, nan time of nan funeral, Edwards apparently texted again and said: 'Missed a bully night.

'You could person stayed here.

'We had a bully evening aft nan show'.

The shaper asked if location had been a spare room and Edwards replied: 'Not spare but plentifulness of room'.

Edwards apparently messaged nan shaper connected societal media earlier asking to move to WhatsApp.

Married father-of-five Edwards' first messages started with: 'Hello beauty', The Sun has said today.

The TV worker told them: “He wanted to meet successful backstage and put rather a batch of unit connected maine to do so.

“I thought it was overseas and very inappropriate fixed his position and nan property gap.”

When asked astir Edwards' condemnation complete indecent images of children, he added: 'I americium shocked but it conscionable shows what benignant of personification he is, and that group were correct to effort to speak out'.

Edwards has made a 'mockery' of nan BBC and was aided by a mini set of his bosses who kept his apprehension concealed for months, betrayed staffers said today.

The corp faces yet much damaging questions aft different of its biggest stars was revealed to beryllium a activity offender after Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and others.

'It's unforgivable and makes a insult of nan organisation. There will beryllium tons of group who are very angry pinch Tim Davie', 1 BBC worker said today.

And BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall said: 'The facts are nan BBC … continued paying Huw Edwards his immense net for 5 months aft he was arrested,' adding: 'Why, also, did they fto him time off connected his ain terms?'.

'In nan end, this was a judgement telephone for nan group astatine nan very apical of nan BBC and nan optics are reputationally damaging. The BBC spent taxpayers' money connected a man now blameworthy of superior offences. Many group will judge nan corp made nan incorrect judgement', she said.

The Director General has been summoned to meet Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy coming to explicate nan BBC's domiciled successful nan scandal, including who had knowledge of Edwards' apprehension 8 months ago 

There are besides reports that personification successful nan Met Police called BBC guidance to alert them that Edwards had been charged, earlier it was made public.

Nicky Campbell, 1 of nan BBC's astir elder power broadcasters, has branded his ex-colleague Edwards 'disgusting'. And responding to societal media calls for nan BBC to get backmost nan £200,000 of licence interest money paid to Edwards while he was suspended, Mr Campbell gave a hint he mightiness agree, tweeting it is 'my money too'.

Writing for nan BBC website Katie Razzall said: 'Why didn't nan BBC sack Edwards, successful ray of his arrest, alternatively of giving him nan abstraction to leave, apparently connected his ain terms, albeit pinch nary salary off?

'There will person only been a fistful of group successful nan room wherever these conversations were taking place.

'The use of hindsight is simply a awesome thing. The decisions they took can't person been easy and they will person been weighing up different scenarios - and competing advice.

'It's important to statement that BBC News, wherever I'm employed, is editorially independent from nan firm side. We didn't cognize astir nan apprehension aliases charges until earlier this week erstwhile nan communicative broke'.

She added: 'Senior HR and ineligible advisors will person advised nan BBC it had a work of attraction towards Edwards arsenic an employee. They will apt besides person said he would person a ineligible lawsuit against nan corp if he was sacked unfairly. The BBC says it was made alert of “significant consequence to his health”.

'But it is difficult to spot this specifically done an HR aliases ineligible prism'.

Former BBC broadcaster Roger Bolton said today: 'The quality of what Huw Edwards has done is truthful disgusting and dreadful that I think immoderate residual sympathy for him has gone.'

'The questions are, erstwhile did they [the BBC] know? What did they know?'

'There is nan BBC astatine nan very highest level, nan executives, and BBC News. It's perfectly clear that BBC News and each its editors did not cognize until this week that Huw Edwards had been charged.

'But we now cognize nan BBC executives were told successful assurance that Huw Edwards had been charged. When did they cognize he was charged? And nan large mobility is, why did they proceed to salary him truthful overmuch money successful these circumstances?'.

It came a BBC insider claimed it was communal knowledge that joined father-of-five Edwards had messaged 'lads successful nan newsroom for drinks' for years. The root believes that bosses 'turned a unsighted eye' to nan star's behaviour wrong nan newsroom successful bid to 'protect' him arsenic an asset.

The disgraced BBC anchorman, 62, yesterday pleaded blameworthy to receiving 41 indecent images of children, which included 2 intersexual videos of a boy nether nine.

It comes arsenic nan BBC admitted it knew Edwards had been arrested connected 'suspicion of superior offences' past November, but kept paying his £479,000-a-year net until he resigned successful April.

A BBC insider said past night: 'It was known for a fewer years he was messaging an assortment of lads successful nan newsroom for drinks etc, yet nan emotion is elder editors mightiness person turned a unsighted eye. If this was nan case, it points to nan accustomed ''protect nan star'' stuff.' 

Edwards received 7 class 'A' images of nan very worst benignant connected his telephone aft being sent them connected WhatsApp by paedophile kAlex Williams, it has emerged. 

He had a full of 41 foul images, showing youngsters betwixt nan property of 7 and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday. 

Edwards was arrested connected November 8 past year, pinch nan BBC being alert of his arrest, it has now been revealed. He was past charged connected June 26. He resigned successful April connected wellness grounds.

The News astatine Ten reader, whose sparkling four-decade profession is now successful tatters, is said to person kept his apprehension 'secret' from his friends, a erstwhile workfellow told nan Mail yesterday. 

Meanwhile, some nan Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard faced secrecy allegations complete nan handling of Edwards's apprehension and charge.

The CPS denied it had purposefully suppressed specifications of nan complaint aliases fixed Edwards preferential treatment.

'Our handling of this lawsuit followed our normal procedures moving successful business pinch constabulary colleagues,' a spokesperson said.

In April, nan Mail received accusation that Edwards had been arrested and asked nan Metropolitan Police whether location had been an update successful immoderate investigation, but was told location had been 'no updates successful narration to this matter'. Edwards had successful truth been arrested past November.

Scotland Yard said it was not capable to respond to enquiries successful narration to a named personification earlier charge.

Yesterday, Edwards appeared successful tribunal to admit 3 charges of 'making' indecent photographs. Of nan 41 images sent to nan presenter by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, 7 of them were 'Category A', nan astir superior type.

During nan clip of nan exchanges pinch Williams, which took spot complete 8 months, Edwards delivered sum of Prince Philip's ceremonial to nan nation.

Just this week, nan BBC would not uncover if it had been alert of Edwards' apprehension successful November. But it tried to take sides its actions successful a connection past night.

The BBC said: 'In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, nan BBC arsenic his employer astatine nan clip was made alert successful assurance that he had been arrested connected suspicion of superior offences and released connected bail whilst nan constabulary continued their investigation. At nan time, nary charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and nan BBC had besides been made alert of important consequence to his health.'

It continued: 'Today we person learnt of nan conclusion of nan constabulary process successful nan specifications arsenic presented to nan court. If astatine immoderate constituent during nan play Mr Edwards was employed by nan BBC he had been charged, nan BBC had wished it would enactment instantly to disregard him. In nan end, astatine nan constituent of complaint he was nary longer an worker of nan BBC.' It added: 'We want to reiterate our daze astatine Mr Edwards's actions and our thoughts stay pinch each those affected.'