EXCLUSIVE: Rupert’s squandered interview opportunity

Just when we think it’s all been said about Rupert—every facet of his role in the Hampstead SRA hoax explored, every piece of seemingly inexplicable behaviour accounted for—another titbit turns up in our email inbox.

This time it’s a series of screenshots, documenting a September 2016 Facebook conversation between Rupert and an unknown individual. This person, who we’ll call “The Fixer” because we like the sound of it, tried to act as a go-between, arranging a meeting between Rupert and the parents of a child who’d attended Christ Church Primary School.

One would have thought that this would be journalistic gold to Rupert, who claimed to be an “investigative journalist” who wanted to explore all facets of the Hampstead story…and yet, it proved surprisingly difficult to pin him down to a meeting.

It began on 5 September 2016:

Right off the bat, Rupert’s first concern is his own safety.

This is odd, since he testified in his August 2017 trial that by the time he reached London, he was convinced that the Hampstead parents had been falsely accused, and that the real baddies of the piece were the anonymous trolls who, he said, had been harassing him. “Do you have any idea what they’re going to tell me?” Rupert asks.

“The truth”, The Fixer responds.

“Well I hope it is consistent with other findings”. What other findings? Angela’s? Sabine’s?

The offer to meet is repeated, and Rupert hedges, saying he might not have enough money to get from his location “near Dartford” to a meeting spot in London. Rupert waffles back and forth, from seeming enthused about the idea of meeting a real, live parent to suggesting they “just Skype it” instead. Even the prospect of the parents buying him a pint doesn’t seem to quell his nerves. There’s some discussion about tube stops, leading us to wonder whether Rupert’s Google Maps app was broken, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, as he hadn’t been in London all that long at the time.And it’s all arranged. Or…is it?Now that the meeting is in the bag, Rupert seems to be having second thoughts.

He starts churning out lines that sound like he’s watched one too many Jason Bourne films: “If anything happens to me, instructions have been left as to what to do….I’m getting intel that your account is a sock account for the anti-researcher set….You would also have to note that this would be the perfect way to pull me out into the open…I AM ARRANGING SECURITY”.

The Fixer tries to reassure him, but Rupert is in full-fledged paranoia mode now: “Or it’s Hoaxtead people who want me dead”. Dun-dun-DUN….Oh, Rupert’s fine again. Nope, perfectly good, all fine here, no problem…until The Fixer says, “The parents don’t feel safe being around a group of strangers, if you decide to bring people with you could they bring people with them?”

This reasonable request sets Rupert off again. “They can bring whoever they want. If I am aggressed at any point, I go apeshit. And I am armed”. Oh really?

The Fixer tries to talk him down again. No one wants a fight, and Rupert announcing he’s armed and potentially dangerous is hardly the way to get the story he claims to want so badly. Interesting side-note: Rupert admits that he does, in fact, carry a “flip knife” everywhere. However, he claims he’s never hurt anyone. In fact, he’s “super sweet”. How very reassuring. Oh, wait, Rupert is backing away again. Now he’s saying he’s been cautioned that the police operate like this.

Yes, the police are well known for going on Facebook and spending days negotiating with suspects to meet with them. Much more efficient than just going to the person’s house and arresting them. That’s totally a thing, that is. Aaaaand now there’s a train strike. Rupert asks, “Can’t they just pen something?”

One might almost think that the Great American Investigative Journalist really didn’t want to meet with people who could give him the interview that could make or break this story.Rupert demands that the parents come to his location; the parents, getting a little annoyed by this point, respond that they would like a reference…from Rupert’s mother. Surprisingly, he doesn’t even blink, but offers to let the parents call her. No, no, they say. A written note will suffice. Within hours, they have the reference from Mrs Quaintance. It is, how shall we say, underwhelming:

To whom it may concern:

Having known Wilson (Rupert) these 37+ years, I may not have always agreed with him but I have always known him to be honest, trustworthy and caring. I give him my full endorsement in all my endeavors.

Wow.A few days after Rupert’s mother’s reference letter, the Hampstead parents seem to have lost interest in meeting with Rupert.

He texts The Fixer on 12 September, saying he’s “lost family and friends over this whole debacle”, but they make no response. Within another 24 hours, the police would be at his door.

If the meeting with the Hampstead parents had come off, would it have changed the outcome of Rupert’s ill-fated UK visit?

Probably not.

But we think this conversation reveals a great deal about his true intentions in coming here, which had much less to do with “investigative journalism” than with self-puffery and childish game-playing. Hardly surprising that it ended in tears. Not that we’re the type to say, “We told you so”.