CNN –
One of the UK’s leading news anchors, Huw Edwards, was named by his wife on Wednesday as the BBC presenter suspended over allegations of payment for sexually explicit images.
One of the channel’s highest-earning stars, the longtime BBC presenter has over the last few years spearheaded coverage of some of the biggest events in the UK, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September, royal weddings, elections and the Summer Olympics 2012
Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind said he was being treated at the hospital for “serious mental health problems” and that she made the statement on his behalf “mainly out of concern for his mental well-being” after days of speculation “Protect our children,” reads the a statement published by BBC News.
The statement came shortly after London’s Metropolitan Police said there was no evidence a crime had been committed.
“Huw suffers from serious mental health problems. As is well documented, he has been treated for major depression in recent years,” Flind said. “The events of the past few days have made the situation much worse, he has suffered another severe seizure and is now being treated as an inpatient at the hospital, where he will remain for the foreseeable future.”
The statement did not detail any of the allegations made against Edwards over the past week. Flind said she hoped the statement would put an end to recent media speculation about other BBC presenters.
“Given the circumstances and given Huw’s condition, I would ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else involved in these disturbing events be respected,” the statement said.
She also said that Edwards “was first notified last Thursday that allegations were made against him” and that he intends to respond “as soon as he has a good enough response.”
The case, which dominated the British news agenda this week, came to light when The Sun newspaper reported on Friday that a mother had accused an unnamed presenter of paying for sexually explicit photographs of her teenage child taken at the time of the first contact was 17 years old is now 20.
The BBC suspended “a male staff member” after the report and said in a statement on Sunday that it first learned of the complaint in May.
Amid the feverish speculation over the presenter’s identity, a lawyer for the young man at the center of the controversy denied the claims reported in The Sun, saying in a letter to the BBC they were “nonsense”.
After reviewing the case, police said they “concluded that there is no information to suggest that a criminal offense was committed.”
According to BBC News, new allegations were made against the presenter this week, with reports that a second, unnamed person had made allegations.
Police said they were aware of “media coverage” of the further allegations, but “no specific details or information have been provided to us regarding these allegations and therefore there is no police action at this time,” police said in their statement on Wednesday.
The BBC said it had seen the police statement and would “continue” its own investigation.