Wife and brother-in-law arrested over earl’s murder

THE wife and brother-in-law of the missing Earl of Shaftesbury were arrested by French police on suspicion of his murder, it was reported today.

The earl’s third wife, Djamilia M’Barek, 37, was arrested in Cannes in the south of France on Friday. Her brother Mohammed M’Barek, 40, was arrested in the German city of Munich on Saturday, according to the BBC.

The 66-year-old Eton-educated earl disappeared from the French Riviera resort of Cannes in November last year. Police said in December that they were treating his disappearance as a murder.

Police in Brighton and Hove made initial appeals when family members raised concerns about his welfare.

He was due to return to Britain on November 10 after a holiday in Antibes, but last contacted family on November 4 and 5.

It was initially thought that the earl, who has a reputation as a playboy, had disappeared with a woman, but detectives became increasingly concerned for his safety when he failed to reappear.

The three-times married earl is known to have arrived in Nice on November 3.

He met his third wife Djamilia on November 5 on Avenue Mareschal Koenig where she lived.

He checked into the €190-a-night four-star Noga Hilton on the seafront of Cannes on November 6 for one night and has not been seen since.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the earl was short of cash and had been taking legal action following a theft.

The earl’s then girlfriend, a 33-year-old hostess from Cannes, and his Nice-based lawyer Thierry Bensaude, spoke of their fears for his safety.

Mr Bensaude, who alerted police when the earl failed to contact him, said at the time that he may have been taken advantage of.

He said: “He is a generous and distinguished man who falls in love easily and meets people in bars who are as far removed from his social background as it is possible to be.”

Sussex Police scoured the Riviera with their French counterparts but failed to find him.

The earl’s family members, including ex-wife Lady Christina Shaftesbury, accompanied police on the trip and spoke to the French investigation team.

A police spokesman tonight confirmed that the force had last month handed over all responsibility for the case to their French colleagues.

“We now have no involvement and have not yet been officially informed of the arrests,” he said.

Friends described the 6ft 1 in earl as having grey hair, blue eyes and sometimes wearing large heavy-framed red and pink glasses.