Telegraph investigation claims English explorer has been ‘kept in Welsh care home illegally’

Nation Cymru staff

An investigation by The Telegraph has revealed that world-renowned explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been ‘deprived of his liberty’, with his wife having placed him in a Welsh care facility under a false name.

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet OBE is an English explorer and writer who holds several endurance records.

Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years, including a period on counter-insurgency service while attached to the Army of the Sultanate of Oman. He later undertook numerous expeditions and was the first person to visit both the North Pole and South Pole by surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot. In May 2009, at the age of 65, he reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Guinness Book of Records founding editor Norris McWhirter in 1984 named Fiennes as the greatest living explorer. Fiennes has written numerous books about his army service and his expeditions as well as books on explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

In an article published yesterday (24 September), The Telegraph’s Alex Diggins and Gordon Rayner, Associate Editor share that a watchdog has concluded that Fiennes was “unlawfully deprived of his liberty” when his wife placed him in a care home, having not been seen in public for two years.

They write: “The Telegraph has learnt that he has been placed in a succession of care homes under a false name by his wife, Louise Millington-Cotes, who put strict conditions on how he was to be looked after.

“Friends have become concerned for his welfare, saying Mrs Millington-Cotes is refusing to let them visit him or tell them where he is.”

The article shares that the owner of one of the care homes in Wales where the 82-year-old has been placed has “reported a number of concerns about his wellbeing to the relevant authorities and even contacted the police”.

They add: “The care home owner also wrote to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to raise concerns about unorthodox medicinal arrangements put in place by Sir Ranulph’s wife, and about the validity of a “do not resuscitate” document that she had provided.”

“A care inspectorate concluded at the start of this year that Sir Ranulph was being deprived of his liberty unlawfully because Mrs Millington-Cotes had failed to ensure the relevant legal protocols had been put in place.”

Several friends and relatives are now said to be contemplating a legal challenge to Mrs Millington-Cotes’ legal guardianship, having been unable to visit or contact Sir Ranulph over the past year

The article continues: “The Telegraph, which has been investigating the disappearance of Sir Ranulph for months, has discovered that he spent seven weeks at the start of this year at a care home in Wales, before being moved to another in Cheshire.

“Mrs Millington-Cotes employed a private carer to provide one-to-one care for Sir Ranulph, and gave staff at the home in Wales strict instructions on his day-to-day activities. She also provided all of his medication, rather than registering him with a local GP who could do so.”

Seeking advice from the Care Inspectorate of Wales, the care home owner was told 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.

“[Sir Ranulph] is under continuous supervision and control, is not free to leave and is not able to consent to care, treatment and accommodation.

“As such, the provider is required to make an urgent and standard application under the deprivation of liberty safeguards as soon as practicable.”

The care home owner also expressed concern that Sir Ranulph’s identity was kept under wraps, with an elaborate background of him being an “an ex-SAS man whose life might be in danger from extremists” invented instead. To further embellish the narrative, the care home owner was also told that staff at a previous care home had tried to kill him.

This led to confusion for staff members, with medication being labelled with his real name and not his alias.

His wife is also said to have insisted he had to wear a hat, sunglasses and gloves “to prevent anyone recognising his face or frostbite-damaged fingers”.

Any visitors that have been able to meet with Fiennes have had to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) beforehand.

The article adds: “The secrecy insisted upon by Mrs Millington-Cotes led to concerns over the highly regulated arrangements for his care and in March, the care home owner wrote to the OPG “to raise safeguarding concerns” about Sir Ranulph.
The owner reported that Mrs Millington-Cotes provided all of Sir Ranulph’s medication as he was not registered with a local GP, and that some of the medication she provided had been prescribed in her name, not his.

“The letter to the OPG said that Mrs Millington-Cotes “declined to provide a full medication list and declined to provide confirmation of his current prescriptions” and that “on several occasions [she] verbally instructed the care home manager … to administer medication in a manner that differed from the instructions on the prescription label”, which staff refused to do.”

Care Inspectorate Wales told the Telegraph in a statement: “Care Inspectorate Wales is committed to promoting the safety, wellbeing and rights of people who receive social care services across Wales. It would not be appropriate for us to comment on an individual’s personal circumstances or care arrangements.”

View the Telegraph’s article in full here.

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