DUBAI: A British aristocrat with a criminal record dating back 30 years has revealed how he claimed to have converted to Islam while in jail so he could get more food.
Jamie Spencer-Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough said he made the claim shortly after Ramadan, telling them he had changed faith, The Independent revealed.
With a history of drug addiction and more than 20 convictions dating back three decades – including one for punching a police officer – the Duke had also had a very public battle with his father, John Spencer-Churchill, who failed to prevent his troubled son from inheriting his $9.8 million estate.
Spencer-Churchill made the revelation about his Muslim claims at a recent event in London billed as a series of “talks by exceptional people with extraordinary lives.”
He told the event’s host interviewer, Sir David Tang: “I changed religion when I went to jail. I became a Muslim because you got more food. It wasn’t the time of Ramadan. I luckily hit it just right – just afterwards.”
A UK government report revealed that many inmates believe that converting to Islam in jail will lead to them eating better, it is a claim denied by the Ministry of Justice.
The ministry also played down claims that inmates known as “convenience Muslims” were granted more time out of their cells – a suggestion that was revealed in the 2010 publication “Muslim Prisoner’ Experiences.”
According to The Independent, all prisoners can opt for a halal meal option, whatever religion they follow.
He served a string of sentences more than three decades ago and finally kicked his drug addiction 10 years ago.
“I don’t know whether it was age or something in my brain, or my wife… But it was around that time when I just felt ‘enough is enough,’” he was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying.
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
Vince Zampella, video game pioneer behind ‘Call of Duty,’ dies at 55
Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind such best-selling video games as “Call of Duty,” has died. He was 55.
Video game company Electronic Arts said Zampella died Sunday. The company did not disclose a cause of death.
In 2010, Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA, and he also was the former chief executive of video game developer Infinity Ward, the studio behind the successful “Call of Duty” franchise.
A spokesperson for Electronic Arts said in a statement on Monday that Zampella’s influence on the video game industry was “profound and far-reaching.”
“A friend, colleague, leader and visionary creator, his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment and inspired millions of players and developers around the world. His legacy will continue to shape how games are made and how players connect for generations to come,” a company spokesperson wrote.
One of Zampella’s crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide,
The first person shooter game debuted in 2003 as a World War II simulation and has sold over 500 million copies globally. Subsequent versions have delved into modern warfare and there is a live-action movie based on the game in production with Paramount Pictures.
In recent years, Zampella has been at the helm of the creation of the action adventure video games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
