Ex BBC chair was briefed before 'poor Huw' Edwards remark

Dame Elan was interim chair of the BBC when Huw Edwards was arrested

The former BBC chairwoman had been briefed on the circumstances of Huw Edwards' arrest before publicly praising the presenter on a radio programme, the BBC has confirmed.

Dame Elan Closs Stephens was interim chair of the corporation when Edwards was arrested in November last year.

Last week, she confirmed she was aware of Edwards' arrest when referring to him as "poor Huw" on Welsh-language radio programme Beti a'i Phobol, which was recorded on 2 July.

She said she was "not aware of the terrible details" which came to light in court and was "horrified by it all", but refused to answer whether she knew why the former presenter had been arrested.

In a short statement to Newyddion S4C, the BBC said: "The acting chair was briefed on Mr Edwards' arrest with the information provided to the BBC by the police."

BBC director general Tim Davie confirmed in an interview last week that the corporation knew the presenter had been arrested over the most serious category of indecent images of children.

"We knew it was serious, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offences," he said.

Mr Davie added they did not know the age of the children in the images.

He defended the corporation's handling of the matter, stating police had asked them to keep details of the arrest confidential and stressing no charges had been brought until after Huw Edwards had resigned from the BBC.

Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children

At Westminster Magistrates' Court last Wednesday, Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

He admitted having 41 indecent and illegal images on his phone. Seven were in the most serious category, and two featured a child between around seven and nine years old.

There is no suggestion Dame Elan had been made aware that police had charged Edwards.

The former BBC chair's "poor Huw" comments referred to initial allegations about Edwards's private life which were published by The Sun newspaper last summer.

Those allegations were separate to the recent criminal case and did not lead to criminal charges.

She then went on to praise Edwards for what she deemed to be his "huge contribution".

When asked to respond to the BBC's statement, Dame Elan said: "As I've already stated, the details which emerged in court were horrific and came as a huge shock to me and the people of Wales."