There is a timeline of events website circulating on a gossip site. This dates back to 2021. So not this week.
I'm not going to go into further details cos I can't verify this. Nor am I going to link to it, because it has The Runner's name on it. The details on it, if true, make it hard to argue grooming wasn't going on. At best, Schofield is exceptionally stupid and goes against any safeguarding training I've seen that would cover being a patron of an organisation which involves kids.
The Media are dropping heavy hints that are consistent with the content of the website.
The newspapers have reported that Schofield hired PR disaster specialists and had them on retainer for £30k a week. Thats a lot of money to clear up a PR mess. They are making A BIG POINT OF THIS. They would normally stress this to make a point of how far Schofield was going to cover his tracks, which always begs the question of 'why?'
(Hey wouldn't you start by cleaning up your social media if you were in disaster limitation??).
Indeed, Schofield's twitter profile is interesting in its own right. It reads: I don’t tweet anymore or check my @‘s sorry. thanks for all the fun originally though xx
His last tweet was December 2021. Prior to that he was a frequent tweeter. Then he just stops. Dead. Its strange.
You can bet that the newspapers have already seen this website and will be looking into this info and trying to verify it. They won't be saying more at this stage until they've got more.
Tonight the Mail are claiming that The Runner says he wasn't asked if he had a relationship with Schofield by ITV bosses. ITV have doubled down and said he was in response.
The question remains - why was The Runner moved to Loose Women in the way he was if there wasn't a cover up? This would have to be agreed to by ITV bosses. Probably ITV Daytime Boss Emma Gormley (to whom we know numerous people complained to and then ended up managed out).
So the story is going in two directions now. What happened and when and was there an ITV cover up? The media are going to keep running the story to turn up the pressure, because it looks like there's questions to be answered.
Also remember:
Schofield wasn't in his mid twenties. He was in his late 40s.
And in a position of authority over the kid.
Thats a double whammy.
Its not a 16 year old meeting a powerful 29 year old - in this scenario there isn't a responsibility of the adult over the minor (if the 29 year old was a mentor this changes as duty of care obligations kick in).
Social media is also suggesting that The Runner quit his job two weeks ago when this started to blow up (quite possibly he started getting harassed by the media). If true that begs some financial questions. That NDA time limit looks interesting.
To say this doesn't matter or its a witch hunt is concerning. And I do wonder where that alledged £30k a week is going...