The Huw Edwards saga has no winners, us included

After dragging on for almost a week, the affair has ended sadly and badly, writes Chris Blackhurst

Edwards had been an image of integrity and dignity (BBC)

Somewhere in a psychiatric hospital, the man who delivered the report to the world that Queen Elizabeth II was dead, and who went on to lead the BBC’s coverage of her funeral, is receiving treatment.

When he comes out, Huw Edwards will find, if he does not know already, that his reputation is shot. Gone is the image of integrity and dignity, the face and voice that could be trusted above all other, the main anchor of BBC TV News.

In some respects, Edwards is a victim. Caught in a tabloid snare, he was allegedly paying a teenager for sexually explicit photos. So much were they being paid – £35,000 – that they used the money to feed a crack habit, it was claimed.