Child abuse campaigners have strongly criticized Huw Edwards, the disgraced former BBC newsreader, following his debut blog post where he sought to explain his actions. Edwards, who was convicted of making indecent images of children, suggested that a mental disorder affected his judgment.

Emma Jane Taylor, founder of the sexual abuse charity Project 90-10, expressed dismay at Edwards' attempt to gain a platform. "Why would anyone want to read about a registered sex offender's 'poor me' story?" Taylor questioned. "What about listening to the victims? And why he is entitled to a platform? Remember, every one of those images represents a real child who has been harmed."

In 2024, Edwards pleaded guilty to accessing 41 indecent images of children, including seven of the most serious category. He received a six-month sentence, suspended for two years. Two of the images involved victims aged seven to nine. Edwards resigned from the BBC in 2024 after his guilty plea.

In his blog post on the Substack platform, Edwards stated he took "full responsibility for my reprehensible actions" and offered "sincere and profound apologies to every person affected." He also addressed his struggles with persistent mental illness, noting that while he had been open about it, its severity was less understood. "The downward spiral that followed led to an appalling outcome, and the wreckage of that outcome is something I live with every day," he wrote, while also stressing that mental illness cannot excuse criminality.

However, Taylor, who is a survivor of child sexual abuse, countered, "I know loads of people with mental health problems but not one of them did what he did. It's always about himself. What an ego."

Fflur Emlyn of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre highlighted the impact of such content on survivors. "These images document the abuse of real children, and many survivors live with the long-term effects of that exploitation," Emlyn said. "We recognise that recent developments in this case, including a return to public platforms, can have an impact on survivors."