BBC blasted for editing report on paedophile to hide references to drag queen career
Andrew Way sent explicit sexual messages to a 14-year-old
North Wales Police/PA
BBC bosses have been criticised after a report about a convicted paedophile was edited to hide references to their career as a drag queen.
The broadcaster, when describing the convicted criminal, originally headlined the article "ex-drag queen caught in paedophile hunters’ sting operation".
However, this was changed a day later, with the "ex-drag queen" title being dropped.
Convicted paedophile Andrew Way, 61, was jailed for 34 months after he was discovered to have exchanged sexual messages with a social media user, which he believed to be a 14 year-old boy.
The BBC have been criticised for editing their headline
PAThe profile was set up by vigilante paedophile hunters who fooled Way into thinking he was talking to a teenage boy.
Way pretended he was 27 in the message exchanges.
The convicted paedophile used to be a drag queen, who went by the stage name Miss Gin.
The broadcaster has come under fire for hiding any reference to Way’s former career.
Graham Breeze, a county councillor in Welshpool, said: “I think there should be some kind of explanation [from the BBC] as to why they are not saying who he is.”
A footnote to BBC story said it had been changed to remove any details not mentioned in court.
However, there was no court request made to remove references to Way’s former job.
The former drag-queen was organising the first Pride event for Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, when he was caught.
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Way was actually sending messages to vigilante paedophile hunters who were posing as a 14-year-old boy
PA
The event was cancelled in late June.
He admitted to trying to engage in sexual communication with a child.
Way also admitted to breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
The BBC has declined to comment.