A HUSBAND and wife have been charged with child sex offences following a major investigation into Twitter by the Sunday Mirror.

Ian and Gillian Edwards will appear in court next week ­after we handed information to police who arrested them in a dawn raid at their home last August.

Detectives from Scotland Yard’s Paedophile Unit seized computer equipment from their flat in East ­London and launched a five-month investigation into the couple.

On Tuesday Ian Edwards, who worked at the Olympics, reported for bail at a South London police station and was charged with more than 22 offences.

He is accused of nine counts of making indecent images of child­ren, six counts of possession of indecent images of children and six counts of distribution of indecent video images of children.

The images include levels 1 to 5, the grading system used by police and the courts, with five being the most serious and ­sexually explicit.

Edwards, 50, is also charged with possession of extreme ­pornography. His wife, 47, was charged with one count of ­possessing 17 ­indecent ­movies of children (levels 2, 4 and 5).
Accused: Gillian Edwards will appear ion court alongside her husband (
Image:
Steve Bainbridge Photography)

The couple were released on bail and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court next week.

Twitter, which has 140 million users worldwide, is introducing a number of measures to help identify alleged victims of child abuse. The microblogging site unveiled the changes after our investigation, ­carried out with child ­protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas.

We won the backing of the Inter­net Watch Foundation, which called on the site to introduce new technology to identify suspicious profiles and pictures.

The campaign was also raised in the Commons when Labour’s Fiona MacTaggart, deputy chairman of a Parliamentary online child protection inquiry, submitted a written question to Jeremy Browne, Home Office Minister for Crime Prevention.

Last September, Twitter announced it was introducing PhotoDNA, software which helps identity both victims and perpetrators.

Twitter also said it was recruiting more staff for its European trust and safety team, and existing staff would get extra training.

Spokeswoman Del ­Harvey said at the time: “We share a common purpose with the Sunday Mirror to stop child pornography from being shared on Twitter.”