Alex Batty Returns Home

[Alickadoo]

Alex Batty is back in the UK with his gran after six years away on a nomadic lifestyle.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67797742

The Sun has his story.

He says he 'lied', but about what?

[vaud]

Have you read the article?

"he said he fabricated a story about a four-day journey, hoping it would stop officers from tracking them down."

"I didn't get lost. I knew exactly where I was going," he added, describing his journey as a two-day hike,"

[Mastodon2]

His mother and grandfather sound like a right pair of wrong wrong'uns.

[Panamax]

Assistant Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police said,
“I can only imagine the emotions they have experienced throughout this ordeal. I would ask that they be granted privacy as they come to terms with what has happened and as they try to find a way to move forwards with their lives together.”

It's remarkable how a big pile of cash from The Sun enables people to get over it and move forward with their lives.

[Alickadoo]

Does the 'lying' refer to the fact that it was a two day hike, not a four day?

[Scrump]

Alickadoo said:

Does the 'lying' refer to the fact that it was a two day hike, not a four day?

[bobbo89]

The way I'm reading into things is that it seems the mother and grandfather are your typical new age weirdo types who probably had no ill intention for the lad but allowed their ideology to cloud their judgement and put that before what was best for him.

He's decided this mad lifestyle isnt how he wants to live his life and being 17 now has complete freedom to fk off and do what he wants. He doesn't want his mother and granddad to get into bother with the authorities as he knows they're wanted people and so cooked up this plan to get back to the UK hoping he'd covered any tracks that could lead back to them.

[WelshChris]

Are the mother and grandfather father and daughter or is there something else going here?

[Gecko1978]

WTF where did you get that from

[Mojooo]

Is it worth this being investigated as a crime?

Let me put some context first - there are crimes not being investigated daily - but because this is high interest it will almost certainly get a st load of resources put into it. Is there a huge benefit in spending time on this as opposed to real actual crime that is happening now?

I know the mum wasn't the legal guardian but she was his mum.

Going to the effort of bringing her back to the UK seems excessive.

I say leave it...unless she wants to come back to the UK.

Appreciate the official Police line has to be 'we are investigating'.

[coppice]

I agree. Mum may have committed an offence - she did not have custody of the lad - but I struggle to see how a prosecution could be in the public interest. The lad is now 18 , healthy and apparently bearing mum no ill will and I doubt very much whether he would want his childhood to be played out in court .I think if the police feel they must do anything , they best stick to uttering their usual vapid nonsense , truisms and cliches - at they which they excel.

[aeropilot]

WelshChris said:

Are the mother and grandfather father and daughter or is there something else going here?

Yes, father and daughter.

[TheJimi]

Did anyone else have to read the article twice to grasp what was going on?

[Alickadoo]

TheJimi said:

Did anyone else have to read the article twice to grasp what was going on?

I find that is true of most articles.

[GliderRider]

Gerald Durrell's mother took him off to Corfu in the 1930s, albeit she did arrange personal tutors for him; other parents take their children on round the world sailing trips. A different upbringing does not necessarily mean the children are suffering. The main issue here is that the mother and grandfather abducted Alex.