THE brother of SAS veteran John McAleese last night told of his anger at child pornography accusations tarnishing his brother's reputation.
The former soldier’s brother Billy said the family only found out about the allegations when reading about them in the media.
It was reported yesterday Mr McAleese, who died of a suspected heart attack in Greece last month, was fighting an extradition battle with police over claims he had indecent images stored on his computer.
However, Billy McAleese last night denied the accusations and said the family is “very angry” about the reports.
He said: “The first I heard of it was today when I read about it.”
Asked if the family is refuting the allegations, he replied: “Of course.”
Mr McAleese is due to travel to Hereford tomorrow for his brother’s funeral, which is scheduled to take place at Hereford Cathedral on Thursday.
He added that the child pornography claims will make it even harder for the family to deal with their grief.
A close friend added that the accusations had come “out of the blue”, but declined to comment further.
John McAleese, who became a national hero after his involvement in the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, is believed to have been arrested and questioned by West Mercia Police four days after the funeral of his son Paul, two years before his own death.
His war hero son was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan and Mr McAleese -- who was working in Greece -- flew home for his funeral at Hereford Cathedral in September 2009. Days later, officers questioned the 62-year-old over suspicion of downloading indecent images of children to his home computer in 2007.
He is understood to have attended the police station by appointment and was released on bail after the interview.
Mr McAleese then returned to Greece where he was living with his second wife, but he failed to answer his next bail appointment and when police contacted him he is said to have refused to return to the UK.
The authorities then began formal proceedings to bring him back to Britain. An appeal for an international warrant for his arrest was granted at Hereford Magistrates Court on March 17, 2010, and it is believed the warrant was sent to the Greek authorities last November.
At the time of his death, the outstanding international arrest warrant remained in place.
Mr McAleese spent 23 years in the Army, with 16 of those spent with the SAS. He became famous in 1980 when six Iranians stormed the Iranian Embassy London and took 26 people hostage.
After a tense six-day siege, the country watched as Mr McAleese and his team conducted a rescue operation live on TV.
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