Ian Bailey spends week in hospital amid ‘heart irregularities’

10/09/2023

Ian Bailey spent the past week in hospital where he was treated for ‘heart irregularities’, Extra.ie has learned.

The former chief suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier confirmed he was admitted to Bantry General Hospital, where he was treated for cardiac problems, on the advice of his doctors.

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Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Bailey told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I have had some heart irregularities, so they sent me in for some checks and I had to undergo some procedures.’

He said he was expecting to be released from hospital yesterday afternoon.

But the poet and former journalist, who was the subject of two high-profile TV documentaries in recent years examining the unsolved murder of the French film  producer, said the continuous stress of being linked to the crime contributed to his cardiac difficulties.

The 66-year-old added: ‘I have been through considerable stress and pressure and anxiety the past few years, so that obviously hasn’t helped my health. But I am getting on a bit and sometimes we just need a bit of tuning.’

He was full of praise for the medical staff at the hospital, stating: ‘I have never received medical attention like it. The staff in Bantry Hospital are just absolutely amazing, in fairness to them.’

The Englishman moved to West Cork in the 1990s, where he sought to carve out a career as a freelance journalist before the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier, which remains one of Ireland’s most infamous unsolved killings.

Ms Toscan du Plantier, 39, was killed outside her holiday home near Toormore, Goleen, Co. Cork, on December 23, 1996.

Mr Bailey, who has always denied involvement in the murder, was never charged in Ireland. An attempt to have him extradited to France to face possible charges there was rejected by the Irish courts.

However, he was subsequently tried in his absence in France and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The case was the subject of a number of documentaries and Sky Crime dramas, including one by prominent filmmaker Jim Sheridan, which cast doubt on the case against Mr Bailey.

Despite the denial of the French extradition request, Mr Bailey is afraid to return to England in case he is arrested.

He recently said he was afraid to appear in person at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

He said: ‘I wanted to appear in person at the festival but I couldn’t. There is still a European Arrest Warrant outstanding for me that was issued at the request of the French authorities.

‘I couldn’t and would not take the chance of leaving Ireland to go to Scotland because I feared I would lose my freedom. I suspect the British would act on the warrant and arrest me as soon as I landed back home.

‘I would then have been extradited to France to serve a prison sentence for a crime that I did not commit.’