Edwards’ Welsh festival membership decision escalated

The decision on former BBC presenter Huw Edwards’ membership of a Welsh cultural festival has been escalated as they consider if he will be expelled.

Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children on 31 July.

He was inducted into the Gorsedd of the Bards – one of the highest accolades in Welsh public life – at the Eisteddfod festival in 2022.

The decision, which is unprecedented, has been referred to the festival’s governing body.

In a statement on Thursday, the Gorsedd recorder, or secretary, Christine James said: “In such matters, the Gorsedd is subject to the Eisteddfod Court.

“The court has a fair and balanced process [for dealing with such matters] which has already started.”

The National Eisteddfod is one of the major events in the Welsh calendar.

The week-long annual Welsh language cultural festival includes competitions in music, dance and literature, and attracts around 160,000 visitors every year.

The Gorsedd inducts new members each year who have contributed to Welsh life.

No member of the Gorsedd has been expelled before due to being dishonoured.

The Eisteddfod Court is the body that governs the Eisteddfod and a separate organisation from the Gorsedd.

Last week, Edwards admitted having 41 indecent images of children, which had been sent to him by another man on WhatsApp, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

They included seven category A images, the most serious classification – two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine.

Police later revealed the man who sent the images to Edwards was a convicted paedophile.

Until last year, Edwards was one of the main presenters on BBC One’s News at Ten and often fronted coverage of major national events.

The National Eisteddfod is a large Welsh language cultural festival that takes place annually, alternating between north and south Wales.

It is the largest cultural festival of its kind in Europe, and a key event in the Welsh calendar.

It hosts a mixture of daily talent competitions and evening concerts, gigs, plays and exhibitions.

Competitions in the main pavilion vary from dance to recitation, singing to brass bands.

The Gorsedd of the Bards is responsible for all the pageantry of the event.

Gorsedd members, known as druids, include poets, writers, musicians, artists and others.

These members have made a distinguished contribution to the Welsh nation, the language, and its culture.

First formed in London in 1792, Gorsedd Cymru describes itself as a central part of Welsh cultural life.

They hold ceremonies every year at the National Eisteddfod cultural event and honour those who have made a “substantial contribution” to Wales and its culture.

Members dressed in white, green and blue robes are also present at ceremonies to award prestigious literary prizes at the festival.

Last week, the Gorsedd recorder confirmed they had no process in place to expel members. It seems they have now decided to refer the decision whether or not to expel Huw Edwards to the Eisteddfod Llys or Court.

Were he expelled, it is believed to be the first time such a decision has been made.

In 2006 Queen Elizabeth II, who was invested in 1946, lost her membership.

However, that was down to a constitutional change meaning that anyone in the Gorsedd had to be Welsh-speaking, rather than a decision to terminate an individual’s membership.

There have been calls for organisations to immediately cut ties with the disgraced former BBC news presenter.

Cardiff University said after the guilty plea it “is actively reviewing procedures in relation to the honorary fellowship award and his position as an honorary professor”.

Bangor University also said it was reviewing an honorary fellowship it had granted him.

The Learned Society of Wales, the country’s national scholarly academy, also said it was reviewing Edwards’s fellowship, to which he was elected in May 2023, in the wake of his guilty plea.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Swansea University have said it was not able to comment.