Inside the chaos over Huw Edwards at the BBC

It’s been a truly surreal, disturbing and darkly comic week at the BBC. Much remains obscured, but one thing is crystal clear: longstanding institutional failings over the way the Corporation handles serious complaints remain unaddressed. 

On a more positive note, however, the events of the last few days have again showcased one of the BBC’s most enduring strengths: the willingness of its journalists to turn the spotlight onto their own employer, even a respected colleague. Even when that colleague is Huw Edwards, the face of the BBC, a consummate professional, a master of his craft and, until this storm engulfed him, a smiling, affable and reassuring presence at the heart of the newsroom. 

Many facts remain hidden – Edwards himself is now apparently hospitalised and has yet to comment on the claims made against him. But this hasn’t been anything close to a re-run of other notorious BBC scandals. There were no whispered, ‘Well, I always thought he was dodgy’ comments among my colleagues or, ‘Well, he had it coming,’ remarks.