Mann book to tell story of failed African coup

Simon Mann, the former SAS trooper turned soldier of fortune, is writing a memoir of his role in the failed Equatorial Guinea coup.

The publisher John Blake has signed a deal with the Old Etonian to publish the book in late autumn.

Mr Mann was released from prison in Equatorial Guinea in November 2009 on compassionate grounds after four years of hard labour. He was part of a coup attempt in 2004 by a shadowy network of African hands who tried to seize the oil-rich nation from President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

John Blake, who met Mr Mann through mutual friends last year, told The Independent that the 49-year-old had already started work on the book, using notes he wrote while in prison.

"It took Simon a long time to decide whether or not to go ahead with the book because there have been numerous threats to his life," he said.

"After a series of discussions with his wife he's decided to write the memoir. He's working from notes that were written in code when he was in prison. There were some hugely famous people involved in that plot and it's a big historic story that needs to be told."