Huw Edwards – latest: BBC bosses warn staff against ‘damaging’ gossip about suspended presenter

BBC bosses told staff in an email that “gossip will not be tolerated” amid speculation over the Huw Edwards scandal, it has been reported.

Staff at the BBC were warned that speculating about what had happened would damage the corporation.

“The purpose of the email was very clearly to contain the situation and stop BBC staff fuelling the fire that had been blazing since the story broke,” a source told the Mirror.

Pop star Rita Ora has accidentally called another BBC Breakfast presenter Huw Edwards in an on-air blunder.

The star appeared to refer to Charlie Stayt as the embattled news presenter in the exchange as she promoted new music on Saturday.

Instead of saying “thank you”, Ora instead seemed to say “thanks Huw”.

“You’re here doing publicity, this is the world you live in and at the same time you clearly guard your privacy,” Stayt said.

Ora then replied: “Yeah, thanks Huw,” before she realised what she said and added: “Thanks Huw? Thank you, for noticing that.”

The pair attempted to move on from the conversation but not before viewers shared it on Twitter.

“Soooo Rita Ora says thanks to Charlie by saying ‘thanks Huw’ hilarious @BBCBreakfast,” one wrote.

“Not Rita Ora saying ‘thanks Huw’ on BBC Breakfast FFS,” with a third adding: “Who keeps rewinding the Rita Ora interview? @BBCBreakfast,” another said.

A local shop in Wales has announced on Facebook that it will stop selling The Sun following its coverage of allegations against Huw Edwards.

Siop Dewi, situated on Penrhyndeudraeth High Street, wrote on Facebook earlier this week: “Thank you very much to everyone who has supported us with our decision to sell the Sun. We are thinking of Huw Edwards and everyone else who suffers from mental illness.

“Hope we will listen more, and be kinder to each other. We support each other, and welcome you all here.”

The statement from Huw Edwards’ wife “acted like a dash of cold water to the face of all journalists”, a former News at Ten editor has said.

Sir Craig Oliver told the Today show earlier this week that the corporation’s journalists had mostly done a good job, but “in the desire to make sure that they look like they’re covering this in a fair and impartial way, they perhaps have gone too far”.

His remarks were repeated today in a new BBC report which noted that the broadcaster’s decision to air fresh claims of inappropriate messages from BBC colleagues – on the day of Edwards’ wife’s statement – has been criticised, with The Sun having pledged not to publish any further allegations.

Sir Oliver was quoted as saying: “I think both the BBC and The Sun are now looking at themselves and asking themselves questions about: is it possible in a frenzied environment where there are so many different elements coming together and it’s making people’s heads spin ... can you, in that environment, have a duty of care to the person involved? And can you allow due process to take place?”

In this week’s In Focus piece, The Independent’s columnist and former editor Chris Blackhurst writes:

Somewhere in a psychiatric hospital, the man who delivered the report to the world that Queen Elizabeth II was dead, and who went on to lead the BBC’s coverage of her funeral, is receiving treatment.

When he comes out, Huw Edwards will find, if he does not know already, that his reputation is shot. Gone is the image of integrity and dignity, the face and voice that could be trusted above all other, the main anchor of BBC TV News.

He may be able to launch a legal action. But even if he can, to what end? The damage is done. His illustrious career must be over.

An affair that, let’s face it, kept many of us entertained, has ended sadly and badly. Not one single person in the saga emerges well. There are no winners – everyone is a loser.

You can read his analysis in full, with Independent Premium:

A man accused Jeremy Vine of being the BBC presenter at the centre of The Sun’s allegations before Huw Edwards was named has apologised for making his “baseless” claim and agreed to donate £1,000 to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the BBC presenter has said.

Suspended BBC presenter Huw Edwards is facing several allegations against him after being accused last week of paying a young person for sexually explicit photos.

My colleagues Maroosha Muzaffar, Holly Evans and Tara Cobham outline those here:

There is a feeling at the BBC that Huw Edwards “wasn’t really managed” and did not deal with “lesser people” but would instead wander into director-general Tim Davie’s office at will, colleagues have told The Sunday Times.

“There’s a feeling that Huw wasn’t really managed. You can’t blame managers for things you do as a senior and well-paid broadcaster,” a senior BBC presenter told the paper.

“You do get treated with a weirdly exaggerated sense of grandeur, you get people who are just enthralled by the idea of meeting you. Huw will never have gone anywhere without people falling over him. What you need is careful management that keeps an eye on that.”

The BBC should “stand up for itself more” amid the furore following allegations made against Huw Edwards, Sir Tony Blair has suggested as the corporation’s leadership faces questions in parliament.

The former prime minister expressed his support for the “important British institution” in an interview with Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

“I think, you know, frankly, BBC should stand up for itself a bit more, to be blunt about it,” he said.

“And also, by the way, abroad the BBC is still regarded as an important British institution, and given our need to make sure we keep as much of a position of power in the world as we can, so whatever my disagreements from time to time, I still basically support it.”

Huw Edwards “has a special relationship of trust with the public”, a former senior BBC news chief has said, adding that the BBC “must work out if it has been brought into disrepute”.

Speaking to The Observer, the individual said: “The idea a big public figure has a double life is going to excite huge interest, but we don’t know the facts yet.

“The BBC must work out if it has been brought into disrepute. The claims could certainly be construed as very undermining of Edwards’ role as the face of the BBC’s coverage of state occasions. He has a special relationship of trust with the public.”