Owen Jones criticised after fierce defence of Huw Edwards | UK | News

Owen Jones has been criticised after his fierce defence of Huw Edwards resurfaced, where he insisted the allegations against the BBC presenter were “false”.

Taking to social media site X in 2023, the left-wing journalist accused the Sun of “spreading the false allegation” that Edwards had purchased sexual photos of minors, adding that the newspaper should “face serious consequences for what it has done”.

Jones insisted the newspaper “tried to destroy someone’s life with false allegations of illegality involving a minor.”

One of Owen Jones’ tweets read: “The Sun did not care about the young adult at the centre of the initial allegations.

“This rag did not even speak to the individual and ignored his testimony.

“They simply smelled an opportunity to destroy a public figure at a time of moral panic.”

Jones even added that “millions of people do things that they would be embarrassed about if the rest of the country knew about them,” adding that “these are not crimes.”

It comes after Westminster Magistrates Court heard today that Edwards was involved in an online conversation with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, 41 of which were indecent images of children.

Most of them, 36, were sent over a two-month period.

On February 2, 2021, the man asked if what he was sending was too young, in response to which Mr Edwards told him not to send images of minors, the court heard.

The indecent images sent included seven category A images, the worst, 12 category B and 22 category C.

Among the Category A images, most of the children were estimated to be aged between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine, the court was told.

In response, netizens took to X to point out how poorly Jones’ tweets have aged, calling on the journalist to deactivate his account.

User @C07M4CK said: “How embarrassed can a man be?

“Deactivate your X account and stop, Owen. There’s no going back.”

While @red_army_1999 said: “I’m sure Owen Jones has changed his mind about charging Edwards.”

@AdmirerofV67186 said: “Owen Jones wrote last year that The Sun newspaper was pursuing Edwards and destroying his career. And Owen Jones hasn’t said anything since, so I guess he has to stand by his claims.”

Express.co.uk has contacted representatives for Owen Jones for comment.