BBC enlists Deloitte partner to help review Huw Edwards, but says it won't be published for several months

July 18, 2023 07:13

The BBC has recruited a senior partner from Deloitte to assist with its high-level review of protocols following the Huw Edwards scandal, which Tim Davie has revealed is expected to end in late fall.

Simon Cuerden, who leads the accounting giant's Fraud, Data and Disputes team, will support the BBC Group Chief Operating Officer Leigh Tavaziva and Senior Independent Director of the Board Nick Serota on the review, which the chief executive says will release its terms of reference later this week but will not be completed until several months.

Speaking to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee in the last few minutes, Davie said the review “Go through the process to understand what we are doing and if we need to adjust protocols and procedures.”

"I asked to see what is pointed out [throughout] to ensure consistency during the period we are doing the review,” he said.

Cuerden is described on the Deloitte website as a "medico-legal partner for over 20 years ", who has "extensive experience working with special committees drawn from the boards of organizations to oversee the reviews and investigations of sensitive incidents and circumstances."

A separate "investigative inquiry" into the Edwards scandal is happening simultaneously, but Davie said that it was "difficult to give a specific time" as to when this review will report.

"In a way it's normal for the BBC with allegations about individuals" , Davie added. “You have to go there diligently, assess the information and of course there are due diligence issues. My main priority is to be fair, incorporate all information into the process, and act wisely."

Davie revealed that he had been in contact with the original plaintiff against Edwards and said his team was “appropriately listening and understanding [their] concerns.”

The CEO appeared before a committee for the first time since the Edwards scandal, which shook the world of media. After several days in which the nationwide gossip mill reached a crescendo, the BBC newsreader was revealed to be the subject of an expose by the Sun on a " BBC presenter" who allegedly paid a youngster around £30,000 ($39,200). ) for indecent images.

After police said they weren't investigating Edwards, Deadline later revealed that BBC News reporters had scrutinized his conduct ahead of The Sun story, edited by his colleague Victoria Derbyshire.

Speaking to the committee today, Davie said that "the history of this industry is such that we should all be concerned and diligent about abuses by people in positions of power.”