Ex-culture secretary says Huw Edwards controversy is ‘damaging for the BBC’

Former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale said there is an impression that the BBC has not sought to be as transparent as it should be, amid questions over its handling of the Huw Edwards probe.

The Conservative MP appeared on BBC’s Newsnight to discuss alleged internal complaints made against former BBC News presenter Edwards, who admitted earlier this week to making indecent images of children.

It comes after BBC director-general Tim Davie defended his decision to employ the veteran broadcaster until April, five months after he was told of Edwards’ arrest in November over the most serious category of indecent photographs.

“I think it’s clearly damaging for the BBC, particularly the way in which further revelations (have) become public,” Sir John said.

“There is an impression that the BBC has not sought to be as transparent as they should be.”

The Newsnight programme included statements from a current BBC employee and a former staff member at the broadcaster who were critical of an internal inquiry into Edwards’ behaviour after they said they received “inappropriate” messages from Edwards.

Sir John said: “(The) BBC always carries out internal inquiries and we’re told that lessons have been learnt and safeguards have been put in place and yet they don’t appear to have been effective.

“…Revelations about what we’re hearing from BBC employees who have suffered completely inappropriate behaviour and reported it and yet nothing was done.

“And those are the kinds of questions where it isn’t enough just to have an internal inquiry, I think there is a public need to know exactly what actions were taken by the BBC.”

Sir John said it was “unfortunate” that while Mr Davie had given an interview to BBC News, he has not been able to be examined “in a way a select committee could” – which “hasn’t yet been set up because we’re in a new parliament”.

“If it had been at the time when I was chairing the select committee, I would have required him to appear before the select committee tomorrow in order to answer what are very significant questions,” the former culture secretary said.

“I think Tim Davie generally does a very good job, I have a lot of respect for Tim, and I absolutely accept what he said in that interview, this must have been a very difficult decision.

“But I think we need to know much more about why it was came to the conclusion that he (Edwards) should go on receiving his salary, that he should be allowed to resign rather than be sacked, and why the BBC knew about his arrest, and yet we only discover it eight months later.”

Sir John served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from May 2015 to July 2016.

He was appointed Minister of State jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in May until December last year when The Sun newspaper’s allegations about BBC presenter Edwards first arose.