Huw Edwards’ low self-esteem may be partly due to going to Cardiff Uni, says psychiatrist

Going to Cardiff University may be partly to blame for Huw Edwards’ low self-esteem, according to a consultant psychiatrist.

Court reports have been released detailing the factors thought to be behind former BBC newsreader, Huw Edwards’ crimes, after he pled guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

On 16th September, Huw Edwards was given a six month suspended sentence at Westminster Crown Court after he pled guilty to child pornography charges.

The sentence is suspended for two years and includes a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

An article by The Times reported on the factors that could’ve attributed to his crimes, which include Edwards being “mentally scarred” by his upbringing in South Wales, due to a “challenging” and psychologically “damaging” relationship with his father.

In a report by consultant psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Michael Isaac, it is said that Edwards endured “cognitive dissonance and low self-esteem, compounded by a sense of being inferior (by not getting into Oxford and going to Cardiff instead)”.

His low self-esteem was also said to have been impacted by his “restrictive, puritanical but often hypocritical background” of growing up in South Wales.

He added that this may have led him to feel inferior whilst working at the BBC.

Psychosexual therapist, Dr Victoria Appleyard wrote that Edwards “recognises that his life… [has] been irretrievably damaged” by his actions and is concerned about the impact on his family.

Edwards has since expressed remorse for the betrayal of his wife and children, acknowledging that their trust in him had been broken.

Dr Appleyard further reported that Edwards used social media to “manage his low mood”.

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These platforms gave him access to men and women who were “motivated to be sexual with him” boosting his “fragile self-esteem” and leaving him “vulnerable to people blackmailing him”.

Edwards is also said to have an underlying cerebrovascular disorder which reduces his “emotional inhibition and is likely to increase his impulsivity to behave in a way that risks himself”.

Alongside this, he has also been diagnosed with cerebral small vessel disease, a cognitive disorder with behavioural disturbance.

The court was then told about Edwards declining mental health and his “unhealthy lifestyle”, where he became fixated on online sexual material and abusing alcohol.

Medical experts have said that Edwards would be “exceptionally vulnerable” in prison, due to the nature of his offences and his “inescapable public prominence”.

The court was told that since his guilty pleas, Edwards has shown “insight, shame and remorse at his actions” and is not considered to pose “any risk to people under 18, or indeed to anyone.

“There is no evidence that he poses a risk of harm”.

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Featured image via Met Police