Huw Edwards' sentence won't be reviewed despite claims of leniency, after he avoids jail for child abuse images
18 September 2024, 15:32 | Updated: 18 September 2024, 15:59
Huw Edwards won't have his sentence reviewed, despite claims that it was unduly lenient for him to be spared jail despite admitting having child abuse images.
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Disgraced BBC newsreader Edwards, 63, was given six months suspended sentence for two years, after admitting three charges of "making" indecent photographs after being sent the images by a convicted paedophile over WhatsApp.
The judge said his crimes were "extremely serious offences" but that he did not present a danger to children.
Tom Tugendhat, Shadow Security Minister and Tory leadership candidate, has written to the government's chief legal adviser and urged a review of Edwards' sentence.
Tugendhat wrote: "It is my duty to ensure that justice is served in a manner that reflects the severity of the crimes committed."
Edwards will have to attend 25 sessions of a sex offender programme and will be required to sign the sex offenders' register for seven years. He will also have to pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.
Victims' Commissioner London, Claire Waxman, called for for the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme to be made more accessible in her reply to Tugendhat.
The Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme allows anyone to ask for certain Crown Court sentences to be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office.
Edwards' sentence cannot be reviewed as the scheme is only applicable to certain Crown Court sentences, as Waxman called attention to on X.
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Offences that can be reviewed in the scheme include rape, robbery, murder and some child sex crimes.
Waxman claimed "I have lobbied for years to make it more accessible" and that it is "important to understand the rights of victims."
For clarity, the Huw Edwards sentence cannot be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme as its only applicable for certain Crown Court sentences. I have lobbied for years to make it more accessible. Important to understand the rights of victims https://t.co/QrjmBu4HUl https://t.co/7CE2VxAk6R
— Victims’ Commissioner London (@LDNVictimsComm) September 18, 2024
