Clive Fairweather: The Simon Mann I knew: a steely pirate who found the SAS a little too staid

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 21:14

AFTER five-and-a-half years in some of Africa's toughest prisons, it is hard to guess what sort of individual will finally emerge as Old Etonian and former Guards officer Simon Mann stumbles back into the outside world.

The Simon I knew in the early 1980s who sailed through the SAS selection course seemed to have it all: a famous father and family, a thorough and privileged education, followed by membership of some of the world's most exclusive clubs, together with inherited wealth and a beautiful and cultured wife to boot.

Steely spirited, stoic and courteous yet amusing are adjectives that would spring to mind when describing him. "But a bit of a pirate," I remember noting, with disquiet – we like our mavericks in special forces to be reasonably predictable, lest they cause utter chaos.

Always the adventurer, Simon probably found the SAS a little too rule-bound and conventional. So a plot to overthrow an oil-rich state's president would have been right up his street, providing the adrenaline he craved, following early retiral from the army.

The chance again to have a knife clenched between his teeth while wielding a cutlass, and swooping from the sky with a motley band of brigands would have been irresistible.

The possibility of untold treasure would have appealed, too, but perhaps to a lesser degree.

The chance to remedy the apparent excesses of an African tyrant would have been much higher up his priorities, because at heart he is something of an idealist, with an eye for redressing social injustice.

He has had adventure aplenty these past five years and I would imagine the more reflective alter ego will now start to blossom.

Yet again, he has been incredibly lucky, but this time maybe he will recognise his true worth, both to his family and to the world at large.

&#149 Clive Fairweather is a former second-in-command of the SAS.