Wales reporter

A ROW simmered on Tuesday at the Eisteddfod as people reacted to reports that disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards had competed in Wales’s largest cultural festival.

The row overshadowed the winner of the poetry crown, Martin Huws, but as a former journalist and supporter of the Morning Star he wouldn’t have been surprised by the reaction.

Mr Huws was chair of his branch of the National Union of Journalists and served as Wales-wide lay health and safety officer for more than 30 years.

The poet has published two novels, two collections of short stories, a volume of poetry, and a booklet on the history of Cardiff.

Edwards had submitted an entry in the poetry competition and, like the other entrants, had done so anonymously under the pseudonym “Y Gelyn” (The Enemy).

In 2024, Edwards admitted to accessing 41 images of children, including seven of the most serious type, and was given a six-month sentence, suspended for two years, and placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Edwards claimed the poem was a tribute to his father, and said on his Substack blog that it was intended to correct a “poisonous narrative” and was not for “sickeningly self-righteous Welsh speakers.”

A National Eisteddfod spokesperson said “nobody, including the judges, know beforehand who had competed.”

While entrants for the Eisteddfod’s poetry competition do so under a pseudonym, their real identity is known to organisers with winners’ identities revealed when announced.

An Eisteddfod spokesperson said it would not respond to individual posts on social media but would review and evaluate what has happened at this year’s festival.