Drugs record 'not mine'

A retired British Army officer says police records show he was a drug dealer in New Zealand - when he was actually doing military training in Scotland.

Bob Hamilton, 40, has been warned he could lose his retirement job at Rosyth military dockyards in Scotland, and has been told to contact New Zealand police to sort out the mess.

His employer, G4S, insisted he gain a Security Industry Authority certificate and a check by the British Home Office Criminal Records Bureau claimed he was fined for dealing class A drugs in Wellington in 1988. But he says he was doing basic training at Glencorse Barracks, Midlothian at the time and did not even have a passport.

"All the details on the New Zealand records are mine. It's the same middle name, the same date of birth and even my fingerprints match, apparently.

"I've never been to New Zealand in my life."

He said that when he complained about the false records to Scottish police "they just told me to contact the New Zealand police".

"Now I've got until the start of May to get this sorted out if I want to keep my job. It's horrific."

- NZPA