The BBC has admitted to partly paying for some of Huw Edwards medical treatment after he was suspended by the corporation.

Last summer Edwards was identified by his wife as the BBC star at the centre of misconduct allegations for paying a young person for explicit pictures.

She claimed that the newsreader, who led the organisation’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, had been “suffering from serious mental-health issues” leading to her taking the decision to reveal his identity.

The former News At Ten presenter went on to admit possessing indecent images of children and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Westminster magistrates’ court in September.

During his suspension, Edwards is believed to have suffered “another serious episode” which required him to undergo “in-patient hospital care”.

But information released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) following a request by the Mail on Sunday, shows that the publicly funded organisation covered at least part of the cost for the disgraced star.

The corporation said: “We can confirm that the BBC did pay for initial treatment for Huw Edwards directly after his suspension from the BBC in July 2023.

“This was based on an assessment of risk and duty of care considerations. Further, we can confirm that this treatment took place in England.”

The former BBC anchor paid Alex Williams, a paedophile, up to £1,500 for images of child sex abuse, despite being told that those in the photographs looked young,

He was eventually convicted of making 41 indecent images of children, seven of which were category A, the most serious kind.

In sentencing, Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate, told that Edwards his “long-earned reputation” was “in tatters” as he handed him a six-month suspended jail term and ordered him to undertake a sex offender treatment programme, undergo a rehabilitation activity requirement order, and sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

The BBC refused to reveal how much was spent on the treatment or how long the treatment went on for.

It is not believed that any payment was made following his arrest.