The London Victims’ Commissioner has called for it to be easier to appeal lenient sentences after it emerged the case of Huw Edwards cannot be reviewed.
The disgraced BBC veteran was spared jail on Monday for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven, with the judge handing down a six-month suspended term at Westminster Magistrates Court.
Senior political figures, including Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat, have written to the government’s chief legal adviser urging for a review of the case under the Unduly Lenient Scheme (ULS).
The ULS allows anyone to ask for certain sentences to be looked at by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), who will then refer it to the Court of Appeal if they think it is not tough enough.
However, the scheme only applies to Crown Court sentences – as pointed out by the Victims’ Commissioner for London Claire Waxman.
She said she has long called for this to be changed, so it is more accessible.
“For clarity, the Huw Edwards sentence cannot be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme as it’s only applicable for certain Crown Court sentences. I have lobbied for years to make it more accessible,” Ms Waxman said on X.
“Important to understand the rights of victims.”
According to the AGO, only certain cases heard at the Crown Court, which tries the most serious offences, can be reviewed under the ULS. This includes murder, rape, robbery, and some child sex crimes.
Ms Waxman, who has lobbied for victims to have the same rights as offenders when it comes to appealing sentences, was responding to a letter from Mr Tugendhat to the attorney general saying the Edwards case should be reviewed.
The shadow security minister claimed the former presenter’s sentence appeared “inconsistent” with sentencing guidelines, which recommend custodial sentences for possession of Category A images.
He added that “as a national household name, the country have been shocked by the criminal activities of Mr Edwards”, and they will be looking at the government to “lead by example and ensure that heinous crimes are punished swiftly”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice made a similar appeal to the attorney general, saying that “serious crime must be punished with serious sentence”.
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The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) also expressed concern about the fact Edwards was spared jail, saying it “sends a troubling message to both survivors of abuse and those who exploit children”.
However, legal commentator The Secret Barrister said in a thread on X that Edwards’ sentence was “entirely expected for offences of this type”.
They said the judge will have taken in mitigating factors such as mental health, his low risk of reoffending and his early guilty plea when deciding not to hand down a jail term.
Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children.
The court heard how he paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.
Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.
As part of his sentence, the 63-year-old must attend a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.
He is also required to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.
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BBC waiting for ‘Huw Edwards to return salary’
Delivering his sentence, the judge said Edwards would be “particularly vulnerable” if he was given a custodial sentence, both from attack from others and as a suicide risk.
Edwards’ barrister Philip Evans KC expressed remorse on behalf of the ex-presenter, saying he “recognises the repugnant nature and the hurt done to those who appear” in the images and “for his part in that he apologises sincerely and makes clear he has the utmost regret”.
He also said Edwards recognises he has “betrayed the priceless trust” placed in him, damaged his family and is “truly sorry he’s committed these offences”.
During his four decades at the BBC, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams covering historic events, with his most high-profile moment coming in September 2022, when he announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II.