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Emily Maitlis has slammed the BBC‘s reporting on the allegations surrounding Huw Edwards as ‘a bit distasteful’, while a friend of Mr Edwards said he was ‘surprised’ the corporation continued to investigate the newsreader as he was in hospital.
BBC Newsnight revealed fresh allegations against Mr Edwards on Wednesday night from three current and former employees at the corporation, who claimed the veteran broadcaster sent them ‘inappropriate’ and ‘flirtacious’ messages.
Maitlis, who worked for the BBC for over 20 years and presented Newsnight before it was taken over by Victoria Derbyshire among other hosts, criticised journalists’ reporting of the explosive claims against her former colleague.
‘If you know this stuff about a colleague, why isn’t your first duty to then go to HR or a senior manager… rather than turning it into a news story,’ the ex-BBC newsreader said on her podcast The News Agents.
Meanwhile writer Andrew Billen, a friend of Mr Edwards, said he was ‘surprised’ that the BBC continued to investigate allegations against the ‘vulnerable’ newsreader even after it emerged he had been hospitalised with mental health issues.
Huw Edwards faced fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour from his own BBC colleagues on Wednesday night’s Newsnight
Emily Maitlis, who worked for the BBC for over 20 years and hosted Newsnight, criticised journalists’ reporting of fresh claims against her former colleague Huw Edwards (pictured at the Oppenheimer premiere on Thursday night)
Allegations brought to light by Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire (pictured) and other journalists came hours after Mr Edwards’ wife said he had been hospitalised
Ex-BBC newsreader Maitlis criticised the corporation’s coverage on her podcast The News Agents
BBC Newsnight revealed fresh allegations last night from three current and former employees at the corporation
Billen, a feature writer for The Times, had lunch with Mr Edwards last Thursday – shortly before the presenter was informed of the allegations against him.
He said: ‘I was surprised last night that Newsnight continued to investigate, especially given the fact we know that he was in hospital… but I understand it from the BBC’s point of view.
‘If they zealously go after other public figures who committed some kind of wrongdoing, to be seen to be independent, they have to do the same with their own.’
Allegations brought to light by Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire, another journalist, and BBC Special Correspondent Lucy Manning, came hours after Mr Edwards’ wife said he had been hospitalised.
When asked by Sky News about the further claims, Mr Billen said: ‘I’d have thought this could well have been an HR matter, rather than a matter for an investigation.’
Mr Billen added that he was ‘incredibly shocked’ when the claims against his friend were first made public, and that ‘I didn’t believe it partly because I didn’t want to believe it.’
He added that just hours before the explosive allegations emerged, Mr Edwards had been ‘in high spirits’ and was ‘certainly not a man with a tremendous dark cloud hanging over him’.
BBC journalists are now thought to be working on more potential stories about Mr Edwards despite ‘boiling fury’ from some of the presenter’s colleagues about the Newsnight probe, it is claimed.
Mr Sopel, who is good friends with his former BBC colleague Mr Edwards, has accused the corporation of unfairly targeting the newsreader.
‘A BBC news presenter using BBC resources to investigate another BBC news presenter. Does it get any weirder or madder?’
He was not alone in his scathing criticism, with some still inside the BBC describing its reporting as ‘really aggressive and uncalled for’ given the police had earlier that there was no criminality involved in claims he paid a youngster for explicit pictures.
Mr Sopel earlier claimed: ‘Many of my former BBC colleagues – some very senior – have been in touch to express their anger and dismay at their own coverage of this’.
He added that Mr Edwards is ‘very angry’ and ‘felt very let down’ by the BBC’s coverage.
Mr Sopel said he has not spoken with Mr Edwards since he was admitted to hospital.
But he said he had contact with him after the scandal broke in The Sun on Thursday night. He has accused the BBC of taking the lead in a ‘feeding frenzy’ that followed.
He said: ‘We have had contact, not since he has hospitalised. He was very angry and felt very let down by The Sun, furious with their coverage and not overly impressed with the BBC’s coverage either’.
Mr Sopel, who left the BBC last year, claims there are people at ‘BBC news that need to have a long hard look in the mirror over the coverage and over the alacrity with which they have gone into someone’s private life’, adding: ‘What has it got to do with anybody?
‘The Sun said it was not going to reveal anything more and then you hear on BBC News: ‘We’ve got fresh allegations that he approached people in a flirtatious or inappropriate way’ and you think woah, the guy’s in hospital’, he said.
Andrew Billen, a feature writer for The Times, had been having lunch with Mr Edwards last Thursday – shortly before the presenter was informed of the allegations against him
Jon Sopel says his friend Huw Edwards is ‘very angry’ about coverage of allegations he paid for explicit photos
The news anchor was named by his wife Vicky Flind as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images
An industry insider said of Newsnight’s report: ‘It wasn’t hard hitting and these stories have a rhythm and the police had said nothing to see here, his wife had said he has had a break down and is in hospital and The Sun had said we are pausing our end of it and at that point Victoria Derbyshire tries to ramp it up again.’
They added: ‘People felt it was really aggressive and uncalled for and there is a lot of anger about it.’
The new comments come after it was claimed today that Victoria Derbyshire and other BBC staff were already looking into Huw Edwards before the alleged sex scandal was made public.
Sources have also told the Guardian that journalists at the corporation are working on further stories about Mr Edwards, even as the BBC’s corporate investigations team conducts its own inquiry.
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