Sir Sean Connery hits out over leaks in Spanish land deal investigation
Sir Sean Connery is furious after he was linked to a criminal investigation into a Spanish land deal.
The former Bond actor has demanded to know why investigators have publicised the fact that they want to question him without contacting him first.
Britain's Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman, brother of BBC presenter Jeremy, has forwarded Connery's contact details to a Costa del Sol court investigating the land deal at the actor's request.
Connery, 80, has also sent a strongly-worded letter, thought to have been passed on to the court by British diplomats, complaining that he learned of the investigation from the press.
The letter warns he is considering legal action over the leaks as they affect his public image.
Investigating judge Ricardo Puyol is examining the deal concerning the site of Connery's former home in Marbella. The actor and his French-wife Micheline Roquebrune sold Casa Malibu in 1999 and it was subsequently demolished. More than 70 flats, later sold for an estimated £45 million, were built in its place in an alleged breach of planning permission.
Former town hall officials and Sir Sean's lawyers are being investigated as part of the case, dubbed Goldfinger after the 1964 Bond film.
The Bahamas-based actor and his wife have been ordered to give evidence at a Marbella court next Friday. They have not been charged with any offence. Excerpts of the letter to court authorities from Connery's representatives were leaked today in the Spanish press.
One said: "Sir Sean has indicated the mere public revelation of these alleged criminal proceedings not only affects his public image but also harms him financially. He reserves the right to take legal action against those responsible." A British Embassy spokesman in Madrid confirmed they had helped put Connery in touch with Spanish judicial investigators. "We have facilitated contacts between the Marbella court and Sir Sean," he said.
A Spanish courts spokesman declined to comment.
