The BBC has said it is "shocked" at what it describes as "abhorrent behaviour" by former presenter Huw Edwards, after he pleaded guilty to accessing indecent photographs of children.

62-year-old Edwards arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (July 31) as he faced three charges of 'making' indecent images of children.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the charge of 'making' an indecent image can range from opening an attachment on an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic “pop-up” mechanism.

The Press Assocation has reported that speaking in Edwards’ defence in court, his barrister Philip Evans KC said: “There’s no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has… in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.

“It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards’ devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there’s nothing in those devices.

“It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.

“Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not, and has not, sought similar images from anywhere else.”

The Press Association has reported how the court heard Edwards had engaged in an online chat involving illegal photographs with an adult man on WhatsApp.

This took place between December 2020 and August 2021, with the man sending him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children - the bulk of these latter images (36) sent during a two-month period. 

On February 2, 2021, the male asked whether what he was sending was too young, to which Edwards told him not to send any underage images, the court heard.

The indecent images that were sent included seven category A (the worst), 12 category B, and 22 category C.

Of the category A images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

No more indecent images more were sent after August 2021, but the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

A BBC spokesperson has said in a statement: “The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today.

“There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.

“The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.

“In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC as his employer at the time was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation.

"At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.

“Today we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge he was no longer an employee of the BBC.

“During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions. We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards’ actions and our thoughts remain with all those affected.”