Huw Edwards named by his wife as BBC presenter alleged of ...

The BBC presenter facing allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos is Huw Edwards, the BBC has reported, citing a statement from his wife.

Key points:Huw Edwards's wife's statement said the presenter is currently unwellThe statement says Mr Edwards intends to respond to the allegations when well enough to do soLondon police found he has no criminal case to answer

Edwards is one of Britain's leading news anchors, who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth to the nation in September and has led the coverage of some the biggest events in Britain since the turn of the century.

The BBC said in its latest annual report that Edwards was the corporation's highest-paid journalist, earning more than 435,000 pounds ($831,870) in 2022.

"Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years," his wife, Vicky Flind said in the statement. 

"The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he'll stay for the foreseeable future." 

The BBC had been rocked in recent days by a report in The Sun about Edwards that one of its leading presenters had paid a young person 35,000 pounds ($67,177) for explicit photos over three years, beginning when the person was 17.

The young person's mother alleged the money had fuelled a crack cocaine habit and that she had previously complained to the BBC before going to the tabloid.

The young person would later through their lawyer deny those claims before another young person said the presenter had threatened them via text message, when they threatened to name Edwards.

BBC on Tuesday confirmed that but stood by their policy of not naming the presenter under investigation.

Ms Flind said she hoped her statement would bring an end to media speculation which had impacted Mr Edwards's BBC colleagues. 

"Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published," she said.

Ms Flind's statement came after the Metropolitan police said there was no evidence that Edwards committed a criminal offence and concluded their assessment. 

The Metropolitan police's specialist crime command says they have spoken to a number of parties including the BBC, the alleged complainant and the alleged complainant's family in reaching the decision. 

The BBC acknowledged that in the organisation's own statement.

“We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed."

The BBC says it will now move forward with their own investigations.

ABC/Reuters