Huw Edwards stripped of membership of prestigious Welsh arts association
Eisteddfod Court’s board of trustees terminated the former BBC presenter’s membership of the Gorsedd Of The Bards and of the Eisteddfod itself.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has been stripped of his membership of the prestigious Gorsedd of the Bards Welsh arts association.
Edwards, 62, has become the first person ever to be expelled from the group, made up of poets, writers, musicians, artists and other creatives, due to being dishonoured.
The board of trustees at Eisteddfod Court, which runs a yearly Welsh language arts festival, announced on Thursday it was expelling the veteran broadcaster.
Members of the Gorsedd are said to have made a distinguished contribution to the Welsh language and culture.
Edwards has also been removed from the Eisteddfod itself.
A statement released by National Eisteddfod said: “Following a unanimous vote at today’s Eisteddfod Court meeting, the board of trustees has decided to activate section four (a) (iv) of the constitution to terminate Huw Edwards’ membership of the Eisteddfod and, as a result, he will also be expelled from Gorsedd Cymru.”
Every year the festival sees thousands of visitors travel to different venues across Wales and is the largest event of its kind in the country.
The Gorsedd of the Bards take part in the ceremonies of some the festival’s events, which include brass band competitions, poetry contests and dancing displays.
It comes after Edwards, 62, admitted to having indecent images of children last week, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type.
BBC director general Tim Davie later defended his decision to employ Edwards until April, five months after he was told of Edwards’ arrest in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children.
Edwards resigned from the BBC in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually-explicit photos.
Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in the matter.
Edwards will next appear in court on September 16.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.