Rod Liddle: UK Correspondent on the BBC's handling of Huw Edwards' child abuse images case

Questions are arising over the BBC's handling of disgraced broadcaster Huw Edwards' child abuse images case. 

The former news anchor has been given a suspended six-month sentence for soliciting indecent images of children. 

UK Correspondent Rod Liddle told Mike Hosking the BBC still paid Edwards his salary after being arrested and has now asked for it to be paid back. 

He says there's a view the BBC protects those it values from public scrutiny. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do Britain we go wrong, little morning mate, Good mone
to you mate, Hewitwoods is not in jail. Are we surprised?

Speaker 2 (00:06):
No, not remotely, and in many cases for good reasons
that you know, he should be treated the same way
as everyone else charged with the same offenses should be treated,
which is that you know, he downloaded appalling stuff on
child Paul from the Internet. But by and large the

(00:30):
sentence for people who do that is a suspended sentence
if he hasn't had a previous conviction. And he's had
no previous conviction. So I don't think there's much worry
about that. There's more worry about the way the BBC
handled it. There's more worry about the way the BBC
bumped in two hundred grand and he's still got it,

(00:54):
and there's a general worry about the way the BBC
conduct is affect I don't think that the actual sentencing
and the judicial procedure through which Hugh Edwards sadly went,
And it is sad because he was, you know, a
bloke I knew quite well, never liked him hugely, he

(01:19):
says now obviously, but didn't. But it's there is still
this suspicion more than a suspicion that the BBC crowds
around the people who it values and refuses them to

(01:41):
be subjected to the same scrutiny that would happen to
other people in society, which is what happened, of course
with Jimmy Sepple.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Exactly does anybody ever quote, I mean outside of you obviously,
but at a higher level, given at all publicly funded,
does anyone at government label liby guy actually that that's
not a bad point, Rod or whoever else? Maybe we
need to have a look at the BBC in the
way they operate.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
No. I think a few Tories probably did, but I
don't think they do anymore. And I certainly don't think
the current government, which is about to make some sort
of alliance with the BBC, I think over its continued
license fee. No, it will continue to be this vast
organization which does many many good things, you know, but

(02:27):
which nonetheless lives its life in a bubble and against
to the accusations of bias grow by the day and
are almost in contestable. It's a real problem, the BBC.
And it's a problem I think not just for you know,
the right which hates it, but also to the left,

(02:49):
which thinks it's.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
Fine Starmer and Maloney. I don't know that you could
get two more current politicians who would have less and
common apart from the migrant issue. Is there a deal
to be done here in some way, shape or form
or not.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, this is yes, I think there is. This is
important because this is Starma reaching out to Europe. So
Starma's vision is to reach out to Europe in a
way which obviously the Conservative Party didn't do because we
left the European Union. So if you follow that kind
of logic, it means that you have to reach out

(03:24):
to people who really don't share your point of view.
And basically Georgia Maloney, who has been described in the
English media and the BBC particularly today is far right,
which is what they described as anyone who is actually
entering a hole towards Satan, is actually basically a saturate.

(03:48):
And there are some similarities between what Starma may feel
about the way in which the economy is ordered and
the way which Georgia Maloney feel the economy should be ordered.
He has gone to great lens to say, look, I
don't agree with Maloney about loads of stuff, but there
are things we can learn from her, and there are

(04:09):
you know, Italy has cut its immigrant quota by sixty
four percent in the last year. You know, it's done
a really really good job, partly through dubious deals and
everything that sorts this out will be dubious with Libya, Algeria,
to Unisia and Albania. And I think, you know, if

(04:31):
if labor can grasp this and move forward on it
in a way, they can do it more easily than
the Tories could, who were always seen as being persecuting
the refugees. There is some future for it.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
With Kiars done very interesting. Just quickly, Rod, to wrap
this up. How much did the doctors get me in
the junior doctors.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Twenty two percent? Exactly what they asked for, twenty percent,
twenty two percent. You know, it's just at a time
when they are telling us that there is no money
in the economy to give the junior doctors, who were
already very well paid twenty two percent. It's people will

(05:13):
wake up and they will see how absurd that is.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
I reckon, go well, mate, we'll catch up Thursday.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Rod.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Little The problem for Kearstamarund of the other story, we
didn't have time to cover off today is this bloke
and it's not just him. Over the year has been
many people, but one of the people who gives money
to the Labor Party is Lord Wahi Dali. Anyway, some
of the money he gave turned up to be clothing
for Sakia and his wife, Lady Victoria. And who's Lady

(05:39):
Victoria turned up in literally today they said, is that
one of yours, Lady Victoria, is it And the problem
with that is of course that's going to haunt them forever.
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