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The stepfather of a young man who was allegedly paid £35,000 by Huw Edwards for sexual pictures came just metres away from confronting the disgraced newsreader after stumbling upon messages between the pair.
In an extraordinary series of events, which led to Edwards’ web of lies finally coming undone, the unnamed stepfather raced to a train station to intercept the rendezvous between the 62-year-old, who has admitted viewing indecent image of children, and his vulnerable stepson.
The stepson, then 20, who had unknowingly connected to his mother’s Apple iWatch after borrowing her phone, alerted her to the apparent tryst when she saw a series of messages from the BBC anchor ping across her device.
Talking to The Sun, the stepfather said: “About ten minutes after the youngster had left the house with my partner’s old iPhone, her Apple watch vibrated on her wrist. She looked down and was shocked to see Huw Edwards’ name flash up with an Instagram direct message[..]
“...she was shocked to discover that Edwards was planning to meet her child at a train station. She rang me — I was working nearby — and I said I would go and try and catch them.”
The young man, who had experienced issues with substance abuse and had allegedly been groomed by Edwards from the age of seventeen, revealed he was on his way to meet the ex-BBC anchor for a £500 payment at Cardiff Central train station.
The parents discovered that Edwards had proposed the notion of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between him and the young man to hush their exchanges.
Describing the moment he raced to the station, the stepfather told The Sun: “I was so angry. I just wanted to confront him and tell him to stop doing what he was doing.
“I didn’t even care if I got arrested — I wanted everyone to know what was happening.”
When he arrived at the station, the stepfather explained that there was no sign of either of the two. So, he made his way back in the car only for his wife to ring again and say that Edwards and the teenager were now both in the station, according to the messages on the linked Apple device.
The stepfather is said to have rushed back inside and spotted Edwards on the platform opposite him. While he pursued Edwards, the young man’s mother texted her son to inform him that his stepdad was on the way to the station.
Shortly after, Edwards is made a quick dash on the next train back to London as it is believed that the young boy had relayed the information.
Describing the moment he shouted across the platform at the accused paedophile, the stepfather said: “I just wanted to tell him to leave my partner’s kid alone and stop sending money.”
In the weeks after the frantic interaction at Cardiff Central, the stepfather approached the BBC to raise the alarm.
He said the BBC attempted to prevent him from entering the building after an altercation with security and when he demanded to speak to an executive, was informed that no one was available to discuss the serious matter.
He added: “They gave me a number for BBC London. It turned out to be the wrong number. I think they just wanted to get me away.”
Last week Edwards, 62, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to receiving sex abuse videos of children as young as seven.
Reports have since revealed the string of delays in holding Edward’s responsible – which the BBC played a part in the handling of.
In February, a Deloitte auditors report exposed how the family’s complaint had been pushed aside and neglected by senior officials.
According to The Sun, the evidence highlighted “insufficient” documentation of the BBC’s attempts to contact the young man’s family.
Despite being arrested in November for his crimes, which executives at the BBC were aware of, Edwards only quit the organisation in April – all while receiving a £240,000 salary increase.
The Independent has contacted Huw Edwards’ lawyers for comment.
