Season 4 - Episode 26

DESCRIPTION:

In 1976 a boy was photographed. The picture appeared in The Daily Mirror. The 3-year-old was marching up and down in front of a sentry who stood outside Clarence House in London. Wearing a faux Queens Guard uniform, the boy was excited for the trooping the colour ceremony the next day. A snippet in the article mused about the child and his future. It read: "Dreaming, perhaps of the day when he can measure up to the real thing himself ."

That boy was Mark Acklom. He chose a very different path to the one the newspaper and his parents had envisioned. From teenage swindler to one of England’s most wanted fugitives — Mark Acklom, known as an MI6 conman, led a life of audacious scams.

*** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED AS THIS EPISODE CONTAINS ADULT THEMES AND DESCRIPTIONS THAT SOME LISTENERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING *** 

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COURT DOCUMENTS and information from the following news organisations were referenced in this episode: BBC NEWS, TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN. SKY NEWS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE LIVE, THE TIMES, THE STANDARD, DAILY MAIL, DAILY MIRROR, DAILY EXPRESS, NEWCASTLE EVENING CHRONICLE, NEWCASTLE JOURNAL and SANDWELL EVENING MAIL.

More information and episode references can be found on our website at https://theywalkamonguspodcast.com

 

MUSIC: 

Stale Mate by Jingle Punks

Hydra by Huma-Huma

Cylinder Four by Chris Zabriskie

CGI Snake by Chris Zabriskie

The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriskie

Little Drunk, Quiet Floats by Puddle of Infinity

Breathing Planet by Doug Maxwell

Eddy by Lish Grooves

Fall Colors by ann annie

Dreaming in 432Hz by Unicorn Heads

Cold War Echo by Kai Engel

Incoming Transition by The Whole Other

A Great Darkness Approaches Can You Feel It by ELPHNT

All music used under an Attribution License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

REFERENCES:

NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES

Daily Mirror - 11th June 1976

Daily Express - 5th July 1991

The Guardian - 5th July 1991

Newcastle Evening Chronicle - 5th July 1991

Daily Express - 3rd August 1991

The Guardian - 3rd August 1991

Newcastle Journal - 3rd August 1991

Sandwell Evening Mail - 3rd August 1991

POLICE PRESS RELEASES

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2019/08/career-fraudster-who-conned-woman-of-life-savings-jailed-for-nearly-six-years/

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2019/08/it-was-an-act-of-the-utmost-cruelty-designed-to-destroy-my-life-for-his-personal-gain/ 

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2019/11/force-awards-ceremony-recognises-officers-for-successful-investigation-of-attack-on-97-year-old-war-veteran/

DIGITAL ARTICLES

BBC NEWS

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-40137282

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-38518909 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-41719564

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44693882

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47691946 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47339359

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49265066

TELEGRAPH

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/07/conman-marco-acklom-has-pleaded-guilty-defrauding-ex-girlfriend/ 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/my-mother-was-victim-to-one-of-europes-most-wanted-men---now-wer/

THE GUARDIAN

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/08/serial-con-artist-jailed-for-five-years-after-swindling-ex-girlfriend 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/08/serial-con-artist-jailed-for-five-years-after-swindling-ex-girlfriend

SKY NEWS

https://news.sky.com/story/the-life-and-crimes-of-serial-conman-mark-acklom-11827440 

https://news.sky.com/story/uks-most-wanted-fraud-suspect-mark-acklom-in-swiss-arrest-11423574 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE LIVE

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/gloucestershires-most-wanted-man-arrested-1741484

THE TIMES

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/conman-mark-acklom-police-seek-wife-who-took-100-yoga-classes-s52s3vwg8 

THE STANDARD

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/mark-acklom-conman-who-posed-as-swiss-banker-and-mi6-agent-pleads-guilty-to-five-counts-of-fraud-a4207731.html 

DAILY MAIL

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7342461/Con-artist-Mark-Acklom-jailed-five-years-stealing-800-000-life-savings.html

DOCUMENTARY

Conman: The Life and Crimes of Mark Acklom

OTHER / BLOGS

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk

https://marcrosrod.wordpress.com

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