Ex-jailbird Simon Mann sells his home for £10m

The Old Etonian mercenary Simon Mann, who was released from jail in Equatorial Guinea last year, has apparently hit the jackpot since returning home. He is said to have sold his house in Hampshire for more than £10m and begun talks in Hollywood about a film based on his exploits.
 
The 58-year-old came back to Britain last year after spending five-and-a-half years in various African prisons for his part in a failed coup in the Equatorial Guinea.
 
It looked as though he would die in the West African country’s notorious Black Beach jail until he was pardoned by President Teodoro Obiang last November.  After his unexpected reprieve he returned to England to rebuild his life with his wife Amanda and his young son, Arthur, who he had never seen.
 
Now he is reportedly selling the property for more than £10m, some £4m more than its market value, to 28-year-old Lady Edwina Grosvenor, the daughter of the Duke of Westminster, Britain's richest landowner. He bought the mansion in 1997 using money he had made from previous mercenary assignments in Africa.
 
Mann, who was in the SAS before he became a mercenary in the 1990s, is also said to be in talks with a Hollywood studio about a movie based on his role in the  attempted coup against President Obiang.
 
However, there could be another twist in Simon Mann tale. As the plot to overthrow Obiang was allegedly hatched in Britain, Scotland Yard could still take action against Mann and his comrades, who include South African arms dealer Nick du Toit. ·