Ranulph Fiennes’ stepson says he is in contact with police about explorer’s wellbeing

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. “That’s the one bit of hope,” Millington-Cotes told The Guardian.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.Michael Kobold, a friend who has been among those questioning Fiennes’s treatment, said he was concerned the explorer’s isolation had since become “even more draconian”, including during his time in a care home in Wales where staff were given strict instructions on his day to day activities.When the arrangements at that home were raised as an issue of concern by the owner with the regulator, the Care Inspectorate Wales confirmed in an email that the correct protocols were not in place.They wrote: “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.”Kobold said: “This was reported to me by the owner of the care home in Wales, from where Louise moved Ran after the owner raised concerns with the relevant authorities.”Fiennes’ current whereabouts is not known. Louise Millington-Cotes was contacted for comment.