BBC boss tells peers there was 'huge pressure' to name Huw Edwards amid pics scandal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The acting chairwoman of the BBC has told peers that there was “huge pressure” on the corporation to name Huw Edwards as the presenter caught up in a controversy.Dame Elan Closs Stephens told a pre-arranged meeting of the Communications and Digital Committee on Tuesday that she was “informed immediately” following allegations that a BBC presenter paid a young person for explicit images.She said the corporation’s board met twice to discuss the controversy following the Sun, who initially made the claims, publishing its July 8 front page.Speaking about the board’s reaction, Dame Elan said: “We had a duty to act with some calm and rationality in the face of lack of rationality and lack of calm.

There were an awful lot of questions that could not be answered.“There was a huge pressure to disclose the name of somebody to whom we had a duty of care, and duty of privacy, in addition to the family and young man that were concerned in this maelstrom.“So I was on the one hand seeking to establish the right of the board to oversee what was happening, but at the same time, I was trying my best to make for a calm and rational discussion of the issue before we all got carried away in what could have been very wrong directions.”BBC director-general Tim Davie also updated the committee on the review he has ordered into the internal protocols and procedures for complaints at the corporation.Mr Davie also confirmed that the BBC has been in touch with the complainant and the corporation wants to be “engaged and appropriately listening and understanding their concerns”.

He said he expects to report in the autumn or late autumn.The family of the young person had originally complained to the BBC in May and the corporation said it tried to