Teenager says he invented a story about walking for four days through mountains in order to protect his mother and grandfather
The Guardian
Mabel Banfield-Nwachi and agency
December 22, 2023
Alex Batty, the teenager who returned to the UK six years after he disappeared with his mother and grandfather, has revealed he decided to come back for a better future, having realised his mother was “a great person but not a great mum”.
Interviewed for the first time, the 17-year-old said he realised he could no longer live with his “anti-government, anti-vax” mum after an argument.
In an interview with the Sun, the teenager, who is back in the UK more than six years after he disappeared on holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather, said he had become fed up of his nomadic lifestyle with “no friends and no social life”.
Alex did not return from a pre-arranged trip there when he was 11 and is said to have lived an “alternative” lifestyle abroad before deciding to return home.
He was picked up by Fabien Accidini, a chiropody student, near the French city of Toulouse in the early hours of Wednesday last week after walking 22 miles in two days.
He said he was concerned his mother and grandfather could be arrested on suspicion of child abduction and so he invented a story about walking for four days through the mountains to make it harder for police to find them.
“I’ve been lying to try and protect my mum and grandad but I realise that they’re probably gonna get caught anyway,” he said.
“I pretended I had been on such a long journey for that reason.”
Speaking about his mother, Melanie Batty, in the interview with the paper, he said: “She’s a great person and I love her but she’s just not a great mum.
“I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I’m gonna leave because I can’t live with her.”
The teenager – who is now under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, Susan Caruana, in Oldham, Greater Manchester – said his mother was “anti-government, anti-vax” and her catchphrase was “becoming a slave to the system”.
“I realised it wasn’t a great way to live for my future,” he continued.
“Moving around. No friends, no social life. Working, working, work and not studying. That’s the life I imagined I would be leading if I were to stay with my mum.”
After being looked after by the French authorities, Alex met his step-grandfather at Toulouse airport on Saturday before boarding a flight back to the UK, Greater Manchester police said.
He can now look forward to spending time with family members, friends and others he grew up with in Greater Manchester, where he was living as a young boy before he disappeared and police say is “where he wants to be”.
It is thought Alex had been living with his mother and grandfather – who had taken him on the trip to Spain in September 2017 – in Spain, Morocco and France while he was missing.
Last week, French prosecutors said Melanie Batty, who does not have legal parental guardianship, may be in Finland.
Antoine Leroy told reporters Alex had said he knew his way of life with his mother “had to stop” after she announced an intention to move to Finland.
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