Huw Edwards must lose honours now - abuse victim

Huw Edwards was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards during the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron in 2022

A child abuse victim has called on all organisations to immediately cut ties with the disgraced former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards.

Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children last week, but still has not formally lost honours with Welsh universities and cultural groups.

"All his awards need to be stripped away immediately," said Keith Hinchliffe, 54, from Monmouthshire, who was abused by a family friend.

The Gorsedd of the Bards – one of the highest accolades in Welsh public life - has said it has begun a "process" that could see Edwards expelled.

Mr Hinchliffe has waived his right to lifelong anonymity about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child to speak out on the issue as a campaigner.

He said a "process" was not needed.

"It needs to be done immediately and there are people who can make those decisions," he said.

He said because Edwards had pleaded guilty: "There isn't anything to think about."

He is currently calling on the UK government to implement all 20 recommendations of a seven-year inquiry into child sexual abuse, including a law on mandatory reporting now before Parliament.

"It needs to be done immediately and there are people who can make those decisions," says Keith Hinchcliffe

Making a decision quickly on Edwards sends out a message to those in power, he said, "that if you do this you will lose your position".

"I feel sorry for the victims," he said. "They don't get to be heard and what happened to them is lifelong, whereas Huw Edwards, yes, will lose position and power but will still be on a good pension."

He called on all organisations to "get to grips" with their processes and "understand the seriousness of child abuse".

The children's charity NSPCC said: "Online child sexual abuse offences can have a devastating impact on victims and we should be in no doubt about the seriousness of Edwards’s crimes."

"It can be extremely traumatic for young people to know sexual images of themselves have been shared online. Childline and the UWF's (Internet Watch Foundation) Report Remove tool can help young people who have suffered in this way to get the images removed.

"We also need to see online platforms do much more to identify and disrupt child abuse in private messaging services in order to safeguard young people."

Cardiff University said after the guilty plea it "is actively reviewing procedures in relation to the honorary fellowship award and his position as an honorary professor".

Bangor University also said it was reviewing an honorary fellowship it had granted him.

The Learned Society of Wales, the country's national scholarly academy, also said it was reviewing Edwards's fellowship, to which he was elected in May 2023, in the wake of his guilty plea.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Swansea University have said they were not able to comment.

Edwards is a former vice-president of the church building society National Churches Trust, and has appeared on Songs Of Praise.

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, the BBC Action Line has information about services that can provide support and advice.