Is the Daily News lifelike to ask Huw Edwards to return his pay?

As the Daily News’s highest-paid information presenter, Huw Edwards was on a wage of just about half 1,000,000 kilos.

So recouping the cash from the time of his arrest final 12 months, earlier than he resigned in April, would possibly go some strategy to restoring religion within the company’s dealing with of considered one of its largest – and now solely disgraced – stars.

But in writing to Edwards to ask him to return the cash, the Daily News seems to be counting on him to do the proper factor.

In mild of what we now learn about his previous behaviour, how lifelike is that place?

The board says that he “has clearly undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute”. It calls him the “villain of the piece”.

Strong phrases and a sign of the popularity of simply how a lot it has broken the Daily News’s fame.

Today’s assertion doesn’t maintain again in condemning a person who, till very not too long ago, was one of many Daily News’s most trusted presenters.

This would have been unimaginable a 12 months in the past. But a lot has modified, and his betrayal of the Daily News and all it stands for is deeply felt by the company.

But the board is firmly backing the selections by the director basic and different executives final 12 months, to proceed to pay Edwards after his arrest.

He would have acquired round £200,000 of licence charge payers’ cash over the 5 months after the Daily News knew he had been arrested in November, and earlier than he was given the area to resign.

Some will perceive the Daily News felt it had contractual and obligation of care tasks. But many received’t.

It’s additionally instructive that the chair, Samir Shah, who took up his submit in March, has mentioned he’s “exercised” by the continuing difficulty of how the Daily News handles dangerous behaviour by these with energy inside the organisation.

The unbiased overview they’re launching that can make suggestions into office tradition will probably be welcome.

But there have already been two inner investigations.

One was into the unique allegations in opposition to Huw Edwards made by the Sun newspaper, that he paid a teen for specific pictures.

After that there was a confidential disciplinary course of into his behaviour in the direction of colleagues.

Neither was revealed in any kind.

How a lot these investigations will inform this new one – if in any respect – isn’t but clear, and while will probably be revealed, will probably be forward-looking, relatively than than coping with the precise considerations raised previously.

The true take a look at in future will probably be how completely the Daily News listens to workers who’ve considerations – and whether or not it can absolutely act on their complaints.