The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, will be questioned next Tuesday in the British Parliament about the leadership of the public corporation following the scandal unleashed around one of its star presenters, Huw Edwards, accused of having paid a minor in exchange for sexual photographs.
Davie, the acting chair of the public body, Elan Closs Stephens, and the director of policy, Clare Sumner, will appear before the parliamentary committee on Communications.
Several issues will be raised at the hearing, including “in the wake of recent events, what concerns have been raised about the adequacy of the BBC’s governance arrangements and how they are being managed”.
Davie has already requested an internal review of the chain to “assess how some complaints had alerted the organization” after the accusations made in recent days against the journalist Huw Edwards, whose identity was kept secret for days, giving rise to endless speculation and discomfort among other colleagues.
The BBC is currently conducting “an investigation to find facts” in relation to the accusations raised against the veteran presenter, after his wife, Vicky Flind, revealed his identity yesterday in a statement, in which he indicated that Edwards is now receiving hospital treatment for “serious mental health problems”.
For its part, the London Metropolitan Police (Met) considers that the journalist has not committed any criminal offense and that “at this time” police investigations will not be carried out, but that the body will cooperate with the BBC.
For his part, Jon Sopel, a colleague of Edwards, told ITV today that his partner is “very angry” and very “disappointed” by how the BBC has covered the case.