British Captives: Arthur Batchelor Loses It
IRAN will have to wait for Arthur Batchelor’s Man At Ahmadinejad suit to be repatriated.
It has come to our notice that Batchelor has mislaid his passport and is duly unable to travel to the front line.
Why such a celebrity figure as Able Seaman Batchelor should still require a passport is a moot point. All we know is that the man the Iranians nicknamed Mr Bean has lost it.
As the Mail reports, it is believed Batchelor lost his passport when it was returned with the rest of his kit to the Royal Marine base in Chivenor, North Devon.
And until the passport can be located, Batchelor is forced to assume temporary duties aboard HMS Drake shore base in Plymouth.
(It is not thought that HMS Drake is in Iranian waters, but these things are movable and there is room for controversy.)
Over in the Mirror, which paid for Batchelor’s story, the navigator has been “pictured wandering the streets” in uniform.
The paper reminds its reader that Batchelor’s current billet in the UK has “nothing” to do with those pictures of him engaged in mock kidnap in a Plymouth nightclub.
As an HMS Drake spokesman says: “We can confirm Arthur Batchelor is still in Plymouth and has not returned to HMS Cornwall. He has been delayed by an administrative problem and it has nothing to do with any disciplinary matter.”
Or because the Navy was to make an example of him. Or because he doesn’t want to go. Or because he left the passport in his suit pocket…
Keep up with Arthur’s comings and not-goings on his blog.
Posted: 1st, May 2007 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
