Bernie Ecclestone denies airport shotgun arrest
It's been claimed that Bernie Ecclestone was not arrested in the Portuguese resort of Cascais afterall.
Shock reports surfaced just yesterday (7 September) regarding the former Formula One boss; allegedly stopped by local authorities for carrying a shotgun into the country.
Portugal's Correio de Manha broke the story, revealing how Ecclestone had been apprehended at the airport but not formally charged.
The 95-year-old, who relinquished his commercial rights to F1 in 2017 after 30 years, has now told the Press Association that he was in fact not placed in handcuffs.
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According to him, Ecclestone merely 'surrendered' his weapon at the scene after flying in from Switzerland, because he didn't have the correct documentation.
Offering his side of things, he explained: "I was going to take part in Portugal in a clay pigeon shooting competition, which I only knew about a few days ago because [his wife] Fabiana met someone when she was coming back from Brazil to Portugal. He said he was entering into a clay pigeon competition.
"So she called me and said, 'There is something here you should go and look at. Why don't you turn up and join?' And I said, 'Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea,'" he went on.
"As I have got guns already in Switzerland, which have been imported properly, because we do a bit of clay pigeon shooting there, I brought the gun in with me. I went through customs and the people know me very well. They said, 'Anything to declare?' I said, 'No, nothing really, just all the usual personal things'.
"So I walked out and, as I got out, one of my people with me said, 'The police have asked if you would go and see them'. I went to see the police and said, 'What can I do for you?' And they said, 'We would like some information on this gun you brought in'.
"I didn't even unzip the case. I said, 'Well, it is a shotgun and this is the reason'. And they asked, 'Where is the blue book for the gun?', and I said, 'I don't know, I have never heard about a blue book in my life.
"They said, 'Yes, well anyone with these guns should always have the book, it is like a passport. Incidentally, I want to look at your passport, too,' which they took."
Introduced in 1991 under the European Firearms Directive, the blue book in question is officially known as a European Firearms Pass.
Apparently, the police asked Ecclestone where his was for a second time before accusing him of attempting to import a gun into Portugal.
"I said, 'I have not tried to do that. I have come through customs, and here I am with you', and they were like, 'It is a gun and we need all the particulars for the gun, and I can I have a look at your passport, and we need the blue book for the gun'.
"So all this nonsense went on," he continued. "We went back to the customs, and the police had complained to customs, and the customs officer said, 'You need to surrender the gun here in Lisbon and then we will look at it there, and do you want to import it? And if so, you will have to pay duty on it and ask for a temporary import, and we will deal with it like that'. So I said, 'Well we'd better do that.'"
On whether he was technically arrested, the F1 icon reiterated: "No. The police were very helpful and doing all they could to stop us from having to do what we had to do."
Dan Seddon