The BBC has apologised for the way it handled a complaint about presenter Huw Edwards.

Complaints about his alleged behaviour were made in May but did not reach senior managers until July 6.

On the evening of Friday, July 7 news broke that a family member had complained about Edwards, 62, at a BBC building on May 18, 2023.

When the BBC did not respond, the family turned to a newspaper and claimed the BBC had failed to take seriously their concerns.

Via a legal letter given to the BBC, the teenager involved in the complaint insisted nothing "unlawful" or "inappropriate" had happened with the presenter. The Met Police also previously said he will not face any police action.

Today, the BBC announced that its review of non-editorial complaints, led by specialists Deloitte, had concluded.

They stated that safeguards need to be "enhanced" so complaints can be "escalated and managed" more effectively.

BBC Group Chief Operating Officer Leigh Tavazia said in a statement: "The review identifies process improvements we accept those in full, and we are delivering on an action plan with several enhancements already in place."

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"The report identifies specific process shortcomings in the presenter case"

She added: "The report identifies specific process shortcomings in the presenter case.

"The initial complaint in this case was not escalated quickly enough to senior management and we have apologised to the complainant for this."

She expressed her gratitude to Deloitte for their diligent approach to the review and thanked the BBC staff and complainants interviewed for their contributions.

In her statement, she added: "Although our existing processes and systems are, on the whole, working effectively, this review shows that we need to join them up better to ensure no matter how a non-editorial complaint comes into the BBC it is escalated swiftly, when needed, and dealt with by the right people."

The experienced and celebrated journalist of three decades was best known for fronting the BBC News at Ten, which is Britain's most-watched news programme.

His wife, Vicky Flind, was forced to state on his behalf after The Sun carried a front-page story containing the accusations, with no name attached to them.

She had said, at the time, that he was "suffering mental health issues" and had been in hospital.