Royal Marine who was awarded George Cross held in Dubai accused of spying

Lance Cpl Matthew Croucher spent four days Dubai prison after being accused of spying Credit: PA

A George Cross recipient honoured for his service in Afghanistan has reportedly been detained in Dubai after being accused of spying.

Matt Croucher, who's from Solihull, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in November and had his passport seized.

The former Royal Marine, aged 40, is also an Iraq veteran and won Britain's highest honour for bravery for throwing himself on an exploding grenade to save his colleagues in 2008.

Remarkably Mr Croucher survived the incident in Sangin, Afghanistan, after his body armour repelled the force of the blast.

UAE authorities charged him with intentionally and illegally accessing a telecommunications network in November, and he was prevented from leaving the country, according to The Times.

No further details about his arrest were known. Now working as a security consultant, he was forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded prison, surviving on a diet of chicken and rice, his family told the newspaper.

Matt Croucher pictured with Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 Credit: PA

His relatives said they had been kept in the dark about his imprisonment, causing them "immense stress", and said the allegations were "fabricated and absurd", the Mirror reports.

They said in a statement: "We don't understand why it's taking the Dubai authorities so long to process this case, a case we believe to be fabricated and absurd."

Dubai officials reportedly obtained a warrant for his accommodation in the UAE, seizing an electronic device.

The device was used for security penetration testing as part of his day job, a friend revealed.

After being detained in jail for four days, he was subsequently released but put under ongoing investigation, with his passport and access to his bank account seized.

Mr Croucher was reportedly returning home from work commitments in Qatar and Saudi Arabia in October and stopped in Dubai to catch up with friends at the time of his arrest.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office responded: "We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities".

Croucher is one of only 22 living recipients of the medal, with only 406 ever having been awarded.

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