The father of a hero Royal Marine held in Dubai after being accused of spying has urged theUK Government to do more to help the return of his hero son.
Matt Croucher, 40, spent four nights sleeping on the floor in a cramped jail after he was held following an alleged traffic offence in November.
The ex-Commando had been working in the country as a security consultant after being awarded the George Cross for valour on the battlefield after jumping on a Taliban grenade to save his colleagues in Afghanistan.
His father Richard Croucher said that while consulate officials had helped to free his son from the 'unsanitary' prison, Matt had been unable to travel home because his passport has been seized.
Speaking from his detached home in Aco*ck's Green, Birmingham, Mr Croucher called on the Government to do more to help his son's predicament, which has caused'great stress for everyone'.
Lance Cpl Matthew Croucher spent four days in a cramped, unsanitary Dubai prison after being accused of spying. He is pictured receiving the George Cross at Buckingham Palace
Croucher (pictured), who now runs his own security business, was arrested on November 4 after Dubai officials accused him of spying
His father Richard Croucher (pictured) said Matt has been unable to travel home because his passport has been seized
'We haven't had any feedback (from the Government) and Matthew's still out there', Mr Croucher said. 'We're stuck between a rock and a hard place'.
'I would have thought with his record (of service) to the country the Government could stand by him a bit more.
'Is this a huge mistake or is there some hidden politics going on here? I don't know. Is he a pawn in a bigger game, or something else happening? Is there something else going on behind the scenes that we don't know? It makes you wonder, doesn't it?
'We are concerned that this has been going on for so long.'
He said his son was 'anxious' following his arrest and had advocated a 'softly-softly' diplomatic approach in the early stages following his detention.
Croucher was charged with intentionally and illegally accessing a telecommunications network, and it is understood he was questioned by the Dubai authorities on his links to the UK Ministry of Defence.
But his father said he had been left 'in limbo' with no resolution to his case in sight, and the family have not had a briefing from the Government on the case, or how it plans to resolve it.
He said Croucher had never had any issues travelling to, from or through the UAE previously, despite living 'on and off' in Dubai between 2014 and 2021.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, holder of the George Cross, during a reception at Buckingham Palace in 2010
Mr Croucher has called on the Government to do more to help his son's predicament, which has caused 'great stress for everyone'
Mr Croucher, 73, and wife Margaret, 71, both retired teachers, are 'worried and anxious' by the situation, he added.
He was adamant his son, who has worked as a security contractor after leaving the military, was not a spy or caught up in anything 'murky'.
Mr Croucher was interrogated for six hours by Dubai's police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and accused of being a spy, according to a friend of Mr Croucher's who spoke to The Times.
They confiscated an electronic device he claimed he used for security penetration testing in the course of his work, the friend said.
But Mr Croucher said the device, apparently taken along with his son's phone, was also something the 40-year-old used to help him cope with memory loss he has been left with as a result of his heroics in Afghanistan.
'He's got a bad memory as a result of what happened out there', Mr Croucher said. 'You know, if you get blown up on a bomb…luckily he didn't lose any limbs or anything, but it has affected his memory and other things.
'He uses that (device) to help him.' Mr Croucher said he didn't know what the device was but that it helped his son to 'communicate in different ways'.
Matt Croucher is pictured with his girlfriend Victoria Cross in 2008
Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, a Victoria Cross medal holder, pictured with Lance Corporal Matt Croucher at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in London in 2010
Croucher won the George Cross, Britain's highest honour for valour on the battlefield not 'in the face of the enemy', for his heroics in February 2008.
During a night raid on a Taliban compound, he stepped on a tripwire triggering a grenade.
Instead of fleeing he deliberately smothered the explosion, twisting on to his back to let his rucksack take the full force and thereby prevent all four members of his patrol being killed by the blast.
The explosion hurled him across the compound leaving him stunned, bleeding from the nose and almost deaf. But within minutes the Marine was continuing the patrol.
Mr Croucher added: 'He was just passing through (Dubai). As far as I'm aware he wasn't working for the British government or anything.
'They've had him there for six or seven months and he's losing money because he can't be doing any jobs. He had contracts and he's had to let people down because he couldn't get out of the country to do the work.
Mr Croucher said he didn't know where his son had been before entering Dubai. He likened the Marine's predicament to an 'illegal detention', saying that his son had 'no rights' in a state with a dubious track record on human rights.
'He told us this all started with some sort of traffic offence', Mr Croucher added.
'If they were particularly serious about him being a threat to the country and the country's security they wouldn't have let him out (of prison)', he said. 'How long do they need to investigate this?
'It's not difficult to find information about Matthew anyway. He's on the internet.'
Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher who saved his colleagues by diving in front of a grenade. He is pictured while on his last tour of Afghanistan
Croucher holds the backpack that he was wearing when he jumped on a grenade, outside HMS President in London
He said the couple and their other child, Claire, who works for a construction company, had not gone out to visit Croucher in part through fear that they could also end up being wrongly detained in the country.
He said they were having to pay their son's rent on his flat in Worcestershire, which, as pensioners, was proving difficult.
'They took Matthew's cards away from him, which made things very difficult', he added.
Croucher is currently staying in Dubai with a friend, his father said.
The George Cross ranks alongside the Victoria Cross as the highest medal for valour.
The VC is awarded for outstanding bravery 'in the face of the enemy' and is often regarded as more prestigious, although the GC recognises the same level of gallantry in cases where no enemy is present.
The Croucher family had previously said in a statement that they were suffering from 'immense stress' and the case was 'made up and ridiculous'.
They said: 'We're shocked at the set of circ*mstances which have played out over the last seven months. Matt was due to only be away for a couple of weeks, returning through Dubai after working in the Middle East on his way home.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.'
