The offenses he pleaded guilty to at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London during a 26-minute hearing involved images shared on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021 by a man who had initially contacted Edwards via social media.

Edwards, who was the lead anchor on the BBC's nighttime news for two decades and led the public broadcaster's coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, has been remanded on bail until a pre-sentencing hearing on September 16.

He could face up to 10 years in prison, though the prosecution conceded that a suspended sentence may be appropriate.

The court heard that Edwards, 62, was involved in an online chat with an adult man on the messaging service who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children.

The images that were sent included seven of what are known as “category A”, which are the most indecent. Of those, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between 7 and 9.

The court also heard that the unnamed male asked Edwards on February 2, 2021 whether what he was sending was too young. Edwards told him not to send any underage images. Five more, though, were sent, and the exchange of pornographic images continued until April 2022.

“Accessing indecent images of underage people perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children, which has deep, long-lasting trauma on these victims," said Claire Brinton of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Speaking in Edwards' defence, his lawyer Philip Evans said there is “no suggestion” that his client had “in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort”.

Edwards, he added, "did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.” He added that Edwards had “both mental and physical” health issues and that he is "not just of good character, but of exceptional character”.

Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court that Edwards' “genuine remorse” was one reason why a suspended sentence might be considered. Setting out the potential penalties under the law, he said that where there is the prospect of rehabilitation, a community order and sexual offender treatment program could be considered as alternatives to prison.

A spokesperson for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said there should be “no doubt” about the seriousness of Edwards' crimes.

“It can be extremely traumatic for young people to know sexual images of themselves have been shared online," the spokesperson said. “We also need to see online platforms do much more to identify and disrupt child abuse in private messaging services in order to safeguard young people.”

Edwards, who was one of the BBC's top earners, was suspended in July 2023 for separate claims made last year. He later resigned for health reasons.