>

'If I am Lord Lucan, what the f**k you going to do? Put me in prison?'

Lord Lucan's 'joke' about the great unsolved mystery

Peer ‘had no reason’ to flee the UK after murder, says journalist

Charles Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, made the extraordinary comment to an acquaintance.

The vanishing of Lord Lucan, which has been described as “the most infamous unsolved murder mystery in British history”, continues to intrigue people.

Lord Lucan vanished without trace in November 1974, shortly after the nanny of his children, 29-year-old Sandra Rivett, was found bludgeoned to death in the basement of the family home in London’s Belgravia.

Despite several reported sightings over the years, including one alleged appearance in Australia, the aristocrat was never seen again and was declared legally dead in 1999.

Scotland Yard has long believed that Lord Lucan killed the nanny, either in a fit of rage or as a result of sexual advances being rejected.

However, some people believe that Lord Lucan was innocent of Sandra Rivett’s murder and that he may have been the victim of a conspiracy.

Now, a new biography of Lord Lucan claims that, before he disappeared, he apparently joked to a friend, “If I am Lord Lucan, what the f**k you going to do? Put me in prison?”

The comment was made to a journalist, John Aspinall, who was also a close friend of the peer.

According to the new book by Rupert Perry, Lord Lucan’s nephew, the earl was convinced that the police were about to arrest him for murder.

Mr Perry said that his uncle “thought he was being fitted up, that there was a plot against him”.

The author suggests that Lord Lucan may have fled the country because he feared being falsely imprisoned.

However, Mr Perry does not provide any evidence to support this claim, and it remains speculation.

The Metropolitan Police have said that they continue to investigate Lord Lucan’s disappearance and that they would welcome any new information.