BBC restarts inquiry into sex pictures scandal as star named
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00:00 This is the story of how one of the world's most trusted media organisations has been thrown into crisis
00:05 with suspension of its highest profile, highest paid news presenter, Hugh Edwards
00:10 and whether he abused his position.
00:12 It also raises questions over the ethics of one of the UK's most powerful newspapers, The Sun.
00:17 This headline last Friday alleged an unnamed BBC star paid 40,000 euros for explicit pictures of a 17-year-old.
00:25 The parents claimed the young person was vulnerable and used the money for cocaine.
00:29 After five days of speculation and social media frenzy, Hugh Edwards' wife issued a statement
00:34 acknowledging he was the centre of claims and that he's been treated for long-standing mental health issues.
00:40 The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters.
00:43 He has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving inpatient hospital care
00:48 where he'll stay for the foreseeable future.
00:51 A police investigation has concluded that no evidence of criminality has been found so far.
00:56 A few moments ago, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
01:02 Hugh was the go-to presenter for every big BBC moment, anchoring the main news programme for two decades.
01:09 A BBC internal inquiry has now opened into Hugh's professional conduct
01:13 with several new claims coming to light of alleged inappropriate messages to junior staff.
01:19 Focus is on Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper too, which only ran claims made by the teenager's parents
01:24 over the explicit photo and not the teenager's account who told the paper the story was untrue.
01:29 There is a question mark over the Sun's reporting and whether they had taken sufficient steps
01:35 to ensure that what they were reporting was accurate to the best of their knowledge.
01:43 After a week of front-page news, trust in the BBC and the Sun both appeared damaged by this episode.