One-legged fake police officer is also an international web priest - Update

A one-legged fantasist who posed as a policeman on a high speed car chase to impress a neighbour has another alter ego as a priest. David Barclay, 37, of Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire, has established himself as an unlikely leader of an international church group. And their website is looking for new priests and donations from the public.



As His Excellency Monsignor Father David Barclay, he claims to be one of the British heads of the Church of Our Lady and Saviour, part of the Western Catholic Orthodox Church. At his right hand is his wife Ruth – known as the Reverend Mother Supreme Ruth. Among an array of services, jobless Barclay’s church offer to carry out weddings and funerals. A family friend said: “When we heard about the cop stuff, we were horrified because people were already muttering about David’s religious stuff. He has been nattering on about how he’s one of the top men in this church and in regular contact with bishops in America and Africa.

“His wife Ruth is right behind him, prattling on about how she’s the worldwide Supreme Mother of the church. It’s cringeworthy. The website seems innocent to some eyes but he’s started adding fundraising links for charities, with his own phone numbers as contact points, which sounds like something that people should be made aware of. He also lists his own phone numbers online for people to contact if they want to become priests – God help anyone who goes down that road.”  Among charities the church claim to represent are the Opus Sancti Michaelis Archangeli, a fund for destitute children in Uganda, as well as Unicef.



Barclay also claims an affiliation with Start-Up Stirling, a charity for the poor and homeless. Barclay claims his church are a “massive, worldwide instutution” and that despite his lofty titles he was simple priest, whose function is mainly admin. He added: “I don’t do weddings and funerals.” He said no charity money was received directly by his church, as people were referred to other websites to donate. On his previous offence, he said: “I’ve been told not to discuss the thing in the car but all I’ll say is that it was a 30 second thing, a one-off. I’m not a fantasist.”

Previously.