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 fueling the fire that had been blazing since the story broke,” a source told the Mirror.

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 illustrated 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 center 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 program.

“I think, you know, frankly, the 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. 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 Observerthe 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.”

Suspended BBC star Huw Edwards is facing fresh claims he sent BBC colleagues “inappropriate messages” as the broadcaster resumed its investigation into the presenter at the center of the sex photo scandal.

The new claims – which followed the naming of the presenter by his wife on Wednesday night – come from two current and a former BBC worker, who said they had received “inappropriate” messages from Mr Edwards on social media, according to BBC Newsnight.

The former employee said they had never met the presenter but received messages from him on social media, “some late at night and signed off with kisses”, which they said they believed was an “abuse of power”.

The corporation is facing questions over why it did not take allegations against its most highly paid news presenter more seriously sooner.

Some BBC News journalists had reportedly started work on a potential exposé about the newsreader before. The Sun reported claims about him allegedly paying a teenager for explicit images.

Huw Edwards accused of sending BBC staff ‘inappropriate messages’ as broadcaster resumes investigation

Suspended BBC star Huw Edwards is facing fresh claims he sent BBC colleagues “inappropriate messages” as the broadcaster resumed its investigation into the presenter at the center of the sex photo scandal.

The new claims – which followed the naming of the presenter by his wife on Wednesday night – come from two current and a former BBC worker, who said they had received “inappropriate” messages from Mr Edwards on social media, according to BBC. Newsnight.