Errol Flynn - a lout, but NOT a Nazi Spy

By George Harris

ERROL Flynn may have been a bad egg through and through - womaniser, bisexual, alcoholic, and anti-Semite. But now the British Secret Service may at last clear him of one of the most heinous allegations against him - that he was a Nazi spy.

Flynn was the silver screen's finest romantic hero, but the man who starred in More than 60 films, including They Died With Their Boots On, Captain Blood, and The Adventures of Robin Hood, at one time faced three rape charges.

Marlene Dietrich called the swashbuckling star 'Satan's angel'.

But the accusation that he was a spy, advocated in Charles Higham's biography Errol Flynn: The Untold Story has been the 'slur' that Flynn fans have long fought to disprove - despite the undisputed evidence that he associated with known fascists.

Now fans, friends and relatives are desperate for the Home Office to release MI5 papers that they feel will not only quash the allegations, but will reveal that Flynn infact spied for Britain and the Allies in the Second world War.

Labour MP Harry Cohen has petitioned the Home Secretary for the early release of the documents which are still secret after more than 50 years.

Rather than spying for the Nazis, the MP believes, "On the contrary, I think he was probably used by the security services in this country.

"More likely he was taken up by the British security services towards the end of the war," said Mr Cohen who has tabled a parliamentary question asking for the files to be released.

It is claimed that the papers will prove that Flynn, who was rejected by the Armed Forces because of a heart troubles, was a patriot who exploited his contact in the Irish Republic to help the Allied cause.

Which fans say will go a long way to counterbalancing all the other undeniable traits in his character.