Ex-mercenary Simon Mann returns to globe's trouble spots

A former mercenary who was jailed for 34 years after a failed coup in Africa is returning to the world’s trouble spots armed only with a camera.

Simon Mann, 61, an Old Etonian and ex-SAS officer, narrowly avoided a death sentence after the attempt to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang in Equatorial Guinea in 2004.

He spent nearly six years in prison before being granted a pardon by President Obiang. Ten years later, he has returned with a TV crew to show the reality of mercenary warfare in his new role as an associate producer for US-based media outlet Vice.

The first of his short films — about the shadowy world of private military contractors — will be released in June as part of a viral marketing campaign for the latest instalment of the Call of Duty video game franchise. Mr Mann said: “I don’t find these places to be terrifying. They’re not if approached in the right way. Sierra Leone is very stable, Algeria is booming, Mali’s still a bit wobbly. I can get to speak to people who are out of reach to other journalists.

“In the refugee camps of Sudan there are four times the number of people there were when Angelina Jolie brought them to the world’s attention. If you can get that message across to 20 million American skateboarders then I believe that’s a worthwhile aim.”