A MYSTERY man who masqueraded as a lord for 23 years and refuses to reveal his true identity has been jailed for 21 months by a judge at Canterbury Crown Court.

The man, who calls himself Christopher Edward Buckingham, assumed a false identity – that of an eight-month-old baby who died in 1963.

As part of his deception, he also adopted the disused title of Lord Buckingham along with the accompanying heraldic coat of arms.

Buckingham pleaded guilty to making an untrue statement to obtain a passport when he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on 11 October.

He was remanded in custody for pre-sentence reports and warned at that time that he may be held in contempt of court for failing to say who he really is.

The court had been told that when UK immigration officers checked his passport at Calais in January they discovered it was a document obtained by deception.

Buckingham was allowed to board a ferry to Dover but arrangements were made for him to be arrested by police when he arrived at the port.

He told Kent Police officers during interview that he was Lord Buckingham, a title he had inherited on his father’s death in 1982. Among his possessions was a letterhead bearing the Buckingham coat of arms and a chequebook.

Enquiries with the Royal College of Arms revealed that the coat of arms do represent the Buckingham family, but have not been used since the early 1700s and no-one is currently registered to use them as their own.

Further checks showed that the man had assumed the identity of a child who was born in 1962, but who died aged just nine months the following year.

Police also discovered that he was an information technology security consultant who had worked for a large Swiss company and had been living in Switzerland.

Det Con Dave Sprigg, the officer in charge of the case, said: “This man has gone to jail today flatly refusing to reveal his identity to us and I believe he probably has a serious reason for not telling us who he really is.

“If anyone recognises him from the photographs, we would very much like to hear from them.”

Anyone with any information about the true identity of the man should contact Kent Police on 01304 668270.