In the hours that followed, the three BBC employees - two who currently work at the broadcaster and one ex-staffer - came forward with claims.
BBC Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire said she spoke to one person who previously worked at the organisation.
'This person told me they had never met the newsreader, this person said that they had received late night messages on social media including kisses from Huw Edwards, which they said they believed was an abuse of power.'
The presenter said her colleague had spoken to someone who still works at the corporation, 'who told us that the presenter had sent them a message on social media commenting on their physical appearance, which gave them a 'cold shudder'.
BBC News Special Correspondent Lucy Manning said: 'There are questions for BBC bosses about the culture in the newsroom and the way that complaints can be raised and the way people feel comfortable or not to raise them.'
Two out of the three people said they felt they couldn't report what they felt was inappropriate behaviour to BBC managers, the journalist said.
She said of her source: 'This is someone who is very loyal to the BBC and they believe it is not just a problem for the BBC but across the whole industry.
She added: 'The BBC responded tonight saying it is encouraging staff to come forward if they have concerns'.
And
Lucy Manning, special correspondent, revealed during her report for tonight's News at Ten: 'It's been a very difficult day here in the BBC newsroom, some of the things we have had to report have been hard to hear.
'The police have found no evidence of criminality but there is still a lot for the BBC to grapple with.'
She earlier reported: 'A current BBC employee said this year they had received suggestive messages on social media from the presenter.
'They believe the messages were inappropriate especially as the presenter was a much more senior colleague.
'BBC News has seen the messages which refer to the BBC staff member's appearance and they are flirtatious.
'The BBC employee wants managers to be more proactive specifically towards younger staff who work with the presenter and to address who senior and junior members of staff interact.
'They haven't yet put in a formal complaint because of a desire to remain anonymous but might consider it.
She added: 'Another BBC worker and a former one have also told Newsnight they received what they perceived to be more inappropriate social media messages from the presenter that made them feel uncomfortable.
'One said they felt it was an abuse of power by someone very senior in the organisation. There has been no response from the presenter's lawyers.'
I am going to say this very carefully that maybe you should be keeping up with the story and the pattern of behaviour emerging.
We DON'T have proof about the claims of meeting up in COVID restrictions - that would represent very irratic and potentially odd behaviour going on which might be noticeable though. And whilst there is nothing concrete on this we ARE starting to see something questionable which bosses should maybe have been aware of.
Everyone saying 'private business' is missing the point with safeguarding. And how patterns rather than one off behaviours are often common.
Someone in a position of power at the BBC randomly starting messaging men 40 years his junior in a way that's flirty/asking to meet up is odd and doesn't come from nowhere. Especially if married with kids. I find it bizarre that people think this and there's no previous 'something'.
You now have something emerging that suggests that it wasn't necessarily just private and amongst consenting people - that's not a surprise in a scenario where the initial allegations suggest abuse of power. An abuse of power suggests a lack of regard for boundaries/rules or codes of conduct.
We should be asking the following:
Is the complaints process fit for purpose? Do people have confidence in it? Do members of the public feel they will be taken seriously if even staff don't feel they can report? How long has this going on for?
Is it a given within the industry that at lower levels you just accept inappropriate messages/ comments as 'part of the job'. If it's that normalised in the workplace, how might that affect someone in a position of power in how they interact with the public?
There are red flags all over the place with this. Why didn't anyone notice them before?
Someone must know something. I just don't believe NO ONE was aware of something. If there was someone seeing stuff, as you'd expect, you ask why have they kept their silence?
We now got seven people saying something. Is that likely to be everyone? Are all these people making up shit? Are we going to start playing the odds game.
The BBC have duties of care all over the place here. Not just to their star presenter.