Janet Street-Porter weighs in on Huw Edwards sentencing
BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence this week, after admitting he possessed indecent images of children.
The 63 year old ex-News At Ten frontman faced appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday (September 16), where it emerged he had paid out as much as £1,500 to a paedophile for the 41 illicit images.
Receiving a six-month suspended term having pleaded guilty to three counts of "making" indecent photos, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring also decreed that the shamed newsreader must enrol in the sex offender registry for seven years and take part in a sex offender treatment programme.
After the news that Edwards has avoided prison, people have been left outraged, especially those on the Loose Women panel.
Speaking about the verdict on Tuesday's show, panelist Coleen Nolan confessed that she was deeply shocked, reports the Mirror.
She said: "I was so shocked when it all came out, then the sentence that he got yesterday was just, I was absolutely speechless about it.
"I thought, well if they can't use someone, and it was such a high profile case, I thought this is the perfect time now to make an example of this will not be tolerated at all. What message is that putting out to any child abuser or paedophile? It's absolutely shocking."
Echoing the sentiment, TV icon Janet Street-Porter pointed out Edwards' precarious mental state. Although she agreed with what Coleen had said, Janet added: "At the same time, it's this idea of making an example of someone.
"What we've seen in the last few weeks is the government quickly changed the law so that the rioters, the people who went mad on our streets in August, were quickly dealt with.
"Some of them received custodial sentences for what previously would've been a slap on the wrist, a big fine or public service, hundreds of them have received custodial sentences.
"I'm weighing that against this and I'm thinking at the end of the day, what would be gained by putting Huw Edwards in jail?"
Cutting in host Ruth Langsford told Janet it would bring justice to the victims
Janet added: "Justice for the victims but he would be very vulnerable."
However, it seemed her comments did not go down well with her co-stars as Coleen shouted: "Don't care! Don't care, good."
Her so-star Brenda Edwards added: "Sorry, but I can't. The word vulnerable, there are vulnerable children, seven years old being taken advantage of, he's an adult who a lot of people trusted."
Loose Women continues weekdays on ITV from 12:30pm
