1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: Into Bradio UK correspondents with us. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 2: Now, Hey Inda, Hey Heather, great to speak to you again. 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: What do you make of Hugh Edward's avoiding jail. 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 2: I think it's disgraceful really, if you ask me. He look, 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 2: we're in a position now where there's basically no prison 6 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 2: spaces left. That is how bad everything that Keir Starmer 7 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 2: has inherited from the Conservatives. There's no more room left 8 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 2: in prison now. That wasn't mentioned in court yesterday, but 9 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:24,799 Speaker 2: it was possibly a factor at the back of the 10 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 2: magistrate's mind. He initially said that, you know, this offense 11 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 2: was so serious it would deserve twelve months in prison. However, 12 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 2: he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and on 13 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: top of that there were mitigating factors like his mental 14 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: health and alcohol consumption and his struggles with his sexuality. 15 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 2: So the end result was he got six months suspended 16 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 2: prison suspended for two years. But his career is over. 17 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 2: It ends in disgrace. He can't go anywhere, and I 18 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 2: know it was last week on his LinkedIn he very 19 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 2: briefly put up a message saying that he will be 20 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 2: prepared to work for charities for free and nobody would 21 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 2: have that was taken down a few hours later. Yeah. 22 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: I mean, look, I take the argument about the jails 23 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: being full, because they are, But you know, it's only 24 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: about six weeks ago or five weeks ago that you 25 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: guys were popping people in jail for saying nasty things online. 26 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: How on earth have you got to the point where 27 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: you go to jail for something like that, but you 28 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: don't go to jail for watching kiddie porn. 29 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, precisely. Look, it's a very very good point and 30 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: it's hard to argue against that. You know, there was 31 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 2: a woman who got fifteen months for what she wrote 32 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 2: on Facebook, fifteen months for a Facebook post, and he's 33 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 2: basically trading or sending about three thousand dollars to a 34 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 2: convicted sex offender for grotesque images of children as young 35 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 2: as seven, and he has managed to not go to prison. 36 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 2: So there's a lot of anger about it. But I 37 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 2: just I'm staggered at the fall from Grace. We have 38 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: never known anything like it. This was the guy who 39 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 2: broke the news of the Queen's death, This was the 40 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 2: guy who anchored UK election coverage. He was the king 41 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 2: of the BBC newsroom and now he's basically a convicted 42 00:01:58,400 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: sex offender. 43 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: Terrible, why standing by him? 44 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 2: He's wearing his wedding ring. We don't know. We were 45 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: told that they had split, but he went into court 46 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 2: yesterday wearing a wedding ring, so we simply don't know. 47 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 2: But then people in the industry are just horrified. I 48 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 2: mean it is a spectacular fall from grace. 49 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: I mean, the guy is like uber famous in the UK. 50 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: If you were in this position, wouldn't you just leave 51 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: the country? Like he just needs to leave the country, 52 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: doesn't he. 53 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 2: He does, Yeah, I don't know where he'll go. But look, 54 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 2: if he has any remorse, if he's truly remorseful, he 55 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 2: needs to reply to the BBC Director General who's asked 56 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 2: for four hundred thousand dollars of salary back because the 57 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: BBC were stupid enough to keep paying him after he 58 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: got arrested. I mean questions about the leadership of the 59 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 2: BBC as well. I mean, show some courage, so show 60 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 2: some moral duty. If a guy has been arrested for 61 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 2: heenous allegations, get rid, don't keep paying him. He was 62 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: on nearly nine hundred thousand then z I mean, you know, 63 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 2: just so many questions. 64 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: Is part of the reason why they did that, because 65 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: I was just reflecting about this earlier that at the 66 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: start it did not seem nearly as grim as what 67 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: we are dealing with now. I mean, at the start 68 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: it was just a kind of embarrassing photo online and 69 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: he'd been talking to and getting photos from a kid 70 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: who was too young, but legal what we're doing with not. 71 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 2: Hang on, hang on. He wasn't arrested over that. He 72 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 2: was arrested because South Wales Police had this in their net. 73 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 2: They got this sex offender who had a horrible interest 74 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 2: in children. So it's too complete. Yes, yes he was. 75 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 2: He was arrested as part of this. The senior management 76 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 2: knew about this, so the two things were completely separate. 77 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 2: The first one was bad enough and terrible as it was, 78 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 2: with you know, front page news and the mother of 79 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 2: the young boy saying, you know, this man to stop 80 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 2: contacting my child for indecent images, and then he gets 81 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 2: arrested because South Wales Police had got all the electronic 82 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: devices from this sex offender and guess who he's been 83 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: swapping images with and receiving money from. Terrible Jesus grim 84 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: for more from hither dupless Yell and Drive. Listen live 85 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 2: to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or 86 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio