Mann turns up on Equatorial Guinea TV

The appearance of ex-SAS officer Simon Mann in Equatorial Guinea looks like sparking a diplomatic spat between Britain and the west African state's authoritarian regime. As reported on The First Post, Mann disappeared from his jail cell in Harare last week after losing an extradition hearing and appeared to have been spirited out of Zimbabwe as quickly as possible to prevent his lawyers lodging a further appeal.

A shackled Mann was paraded on Equatorial Guinea's state television on Thursday (see picture) and is due to stand trial for an alleged attempt in 2004 to depose President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Mann is apparently being held in the capital's notorious Black Beach jail - albeit in a new wing nicknamed 'the executive suite' which authorities claim meets international standards. The American ambassador has visited Mann, at the authorities' request, and pronounced him "composed and in fair health" - but no British diplomat has been allowed to see him.

The snub is thought to be related to the indefinite suspension on Thursday of a House of Lords hearing into Equatorial Guinea's £2.5m for damages from Mann in reparation for the alleged attempted coup. The Lords ruled that the regime has failed to allow Mann to communicate with his lawyers or offer reassurances about his wellbeing.

Mann's wife Amanda, who lives on the family estate in Exbury, Hampshire, said at the hearing, "I fail entirely to understand how [Equatorial Guinea's] government, which has no regard for human rights or the rule of law, can have the audacity to seek the assistance of the British legal system."