Cheshire police contacted Alexander Millington-Cotes about Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s wellbeing, he said, after weeks of questions about the explorer’s care and access. Millington-Cotes, Fiennes’s stepson, said he plans to speak to police this week.
He said the call gave him hope that the concerns raised by friends and family were being taken seriously. Fiennes is 82 and has Parkinson’s, and Millington-Cotes said he has not been seen in public for two years.
Millington-Cotes and Cheshire police
Millington-Cotes said an officer from Cheshire police called him in recent days and wanted his perspective on what he had observed. He said, “I might have possibly one more avenue with the police. I just got a call the other day from a detective who wanted to speak to me, which was interesting and encouraging. They kind of wanted to get my perspective on things and the sort of things that I’ve observed and things like that, and what I believe to be the truth.”
He also said, “That’s the one bit of hope.” The contact matters because it is the first direct police approach to a family member in the latest phase of the dispute over Fiennes’s wellbeing.
Joseph Fiennes in January
The concern did not begin with the police call. In January, Joseph Fiennes wrote to the Office of the Public Guardian with worries about Ranulph being cut off from friends and family, adding another formal step to a family dispute that has moved through legal and welfare channels.
Millington-Cotes said he is crowdfunding a legal application to try to wrest power of attorney over Fiennes away from his mother, Louise. He said Fiennes has spent more than a year living under assumed names in a succession of care homes.
Care Inspectorate Wales
Arabella Pepper said visitors were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, and she said Fiennes appeared “incredibly relieved” to see her and spoke of “longing” to see friends. Michael Kobold said he was concerned that the explorer’s isolation had become “even more draconian” and said he was in a care home in Wales where staff were given strict instructions on his day to day activities.
The Care Inspectorate Wales wrote in an email that “Currently [Sir Ranulph] is being deprived of his liberty unlawfully as there is no authorised deprivation in place which reflects the current residence and restrictions in place.” Cheshire police said on Monday that they do not have safeguarding concerns and that officers were satisfied Fiennes is living in an appropriate setting with suitable care and professional oversight.
The latest police contact shifts the dispute from general concern to a direct exchange between police and one of the family members pressing for answers. What Cheshire police will do after speaking to Millington-Cotes this week is the next question in the case.
