Woman claims 'MI6 lover' Mark Acklom defrauded her of £850k

A woman who claims her former lover posed as an MI6 agent to con her out of her life savings has criticised police for not doing enough to catch him.

Carolyn Woods, from Gloucestershire, lent Mark Acklom £850,000 during a year-long relationship in 2012.

He has since disappeared and in October was among 10 British fugitives named by the National Crime Agency as the most wanted in Spain.

Avon and Somerset Police said they were "doing everything we can" to find him.

Ms Woods, 55, met Mr Acklom, 43, when he walked into the shop where she worked in Tetbury.

She said when she first met him, he told her he was a Swiss banker but subsequently "confided" he worked for MI6, before she moved in with him in Bath.

She claims this gave him "carte blanche" to "appear at any time of the day or night or be absent for long periods without having to explain".

The only picture of them together is from CCTV in the shop on the day they met - she said his "MI6 role meant he could not be photographed alongside her"

"I said to people, this is like something out of James Bond," she said.

"He managed to convince me that he was an MI6 agent and had to have brain surgery."

Ms Woods said on one occasion, in London, he told her he had been called to see his boss at MI6.

She said they were taken - by "his driver" - to a side street near the MI6 building.

'Life descending into hell'

"I believed he was going in through a back entrance to see his boss," Ms Woods said.

"I saw him walk into what looked like an underground car park, past two armed guards - two men wearing flak jackets and what looked like machine guns.

"So I was absolutely convinced he had gone into the MI6 building. I have been told since, they don't have armed guards at MI6. But how anybody got near the MI6 building, even with a toy gun, I don't know. And who those people were? I have no idea," she said.

After winning her trust, she said he demanded money from her and she lent him £850,000.

Mark Acklom is one of the UK's most wanted fugitives

Carolyn Woods said Mark Acklom "vanished" at the end of 2012.

She said: "At that time, my life was descending into hell. I had no money left. I was living in a house I believed he owned but I was paying all the bills."

Ms Woods said she gave evidence to Avon and Somerset Police, in July 2015, that Mr Acklom was in custody in Spain, but by the time they had got a European arrest warrant a year later he had been released.

She said: "They seem to have very little communication with the Spanish police. I don't get the impression that anything is followed through or that they even try to find out."

Det Insp Adam Bunting said offences were reported to Avon and Somerset Police in 2013, and a European Arrest warrant was obtained in June 2016.

He added that although information was received in response to last year's appeal in identifying the 10 most wanted British fugitives in Spain, Mr Acklom had not been located.

The officer said: "We're continuing to work with the NCA and the Spanish authorities, in order to locate and arrest him as soon as possible.

"We're aware of some of the concerns the victim has relating to the early stages of the investigation, but I'd like to reassure her and the public that we're doing everything we can to find Acklom and bring him back to this country."

Sky News spoke to Mr Acklom last year about Ms Woods' claims and he described them as "nonsense".