DUBAI: A British aristocrat with a criminal record dating back 30 years has revealed how he claimed to have converted to Islam while in jail so he could get more food.
Jamie Spencer-Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough said he made the claim shortly after Ramadan, telling them he had changed faith, The Independent revealed.
With a history of drug addiction and more than 20 convictions dating back three decades – including one for punching a police officer – the Duke had also had a very public battle with his father, John Spencer-Churchill, who failed to prevent his troubled son from inheriting his $9.8 million estate.
Spencer-Churchill made the revelation about his Muslim claims at a recent event in London billed as a series of “talks by exceptional people with extraordinary lives.”
He told the event’s host interviewer, Sir David Tang: “I changed religion when I went to jail. I became a Muslim because you got more food. It wasn’t the time of Ramadan. I luckily hit it just right – just afterwards.”
A UK government report revealed that many inmates believe that converting to Islam in jail will lead to them eating better, it is a claim denied by the Ministry of Justice.
The ministry also played down claims that inmates known as “convenience Muslims” were granted more time out of their cells – a suggestion that was revealed in the 2010 publication “Muslim Prisoner’ Experiences.”
According to The Independent, all prisoners can opt for a halal meal option, whatever religion they follow.
He served a string of sentences more than three decades ago and finally kicked his drug addiction 10 years ago.
“I don’t know whether it was age or something in my brain, or my wife… But it was around that time when I just felt ‘enough is enough,’” he was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying.
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
