The stepson of Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been contacted by police and says he intends to speak to them this week over his concerns about the wellbeing of the explorer. Alexander Millington-Cotes – who is estranged from his mother, Louise, Fiennes’ second and current wife – said an officer from Cheshire police had called him in recent days. The call, he said, had given him hope the concerns of friends and family of Fiennes were being taken seriously, adding that the officer appeared interested in what he had observed.
Questions have been raised in recent months about the welfare of Fiennes, who has Parkinson’s and is in the care of his wife, who has power of attorney. Among those who have raised issues is his relative Joseph Fiennes, the actor, who wrote in January to the Office of the Public Guardian, setting out concerns about Ranulph being cut off from friends and family. He has not been seen in public for two years.
Millington-Cotes, 31, said he had been disappointed by the response of the authorities so far. Cheshire police issued a statement on Monday in which they said they did not have “safeguarding concerns” regarding the 82-year-old. It said officers were “satisfied that Sir Ranulph Fiennes is living in an appropriate setting with suitable care and professional oversight”.
Millington-Cotes said a wide group of friends were concerned the police did not have the full picture. It is claimed that the explorer has spent more than a year living under assumed names in a succession of care homes and that even attempts by the king to check on him had been rebuffed by Fiennes’s wife. Millington-Cotes 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.” A spokesperson for Cheshire police said: “Yes, we’re in touch with him. Our original statement still stands.” Millington-Cotes, an aerospace engineer, described the initial police statement as “slapdash” and “really disappointing”.
He is crowdfunding a legal application in an attempt to wrest power of attorney over Fiennes away from his mother. Among the last to see Fiennes was Arabella Pepper, the younger sister of Ranulph’s late first wife, Ginny, who claimed visitors were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. She claimed Fiennes appeared “incredibly relieved” to see her and that he had spoken of “longing” to see friends.
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