He also led the broadcaster’s coverage for national events, such as Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and King Charles III’s coronation, and was set to anchor this year’s general election coverage.

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Edwards had been the corporation’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000 ($833,351) –£439,999 ($842,928) in 2022/2023, according to the corporation’s most recent annual report.

Several allegations were made against Edwards by The Sun as well as the BBC’s own news programs. The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid first reported a family’s claims that their child was paid tens of thousands of pounds for explicit photos over three years. A lawyer for the person last year disputed The Sun’s reporting.

BBC News also reported claims by its own staff of “inappropriate behaviour” against the presenter. Edwards has not commented on the claims.

His wife said at the time: “Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years ... and is now receiving in-patient hospital care, where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.

“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.”

The BBC faced questions over its handling of the affair, and whether it should have done more to investigate the allegations earlier. It later apologised to the family of the young person at the centre of the allegations after a review into the effectiveness of its non-editorial complaints policies and processes.

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