Edwards University Cinemas

Michael Brown: The man from nowhere who shamed the Liberal Democrats with his ...

His mother, Patricia, speaking shortly after he made his donation to the Lib Dems, said she had not been in contact with him for many years and wanted little to do with him.

"Let me just say that he has certain character flaws, and leave it at that. He is not someone that I know very much about these days," she said.

He said at the time: "I've flown by the seat of my pants most of my life and I rely on gut instinct."

Then, in April 2006 – having helped the party to its most successful election since the war – increasing its share of the vote by 4 per cent thanks in part to the advertising bought by Brown's donation – he was arrested in Spain over suspicions he was engaged in a high-yield fraud.

Brown was accused of stealing nearly £50m from four investors, including £11m from Martin Edwards, the former chairman of Manchester United.

He had managed to convince potential "clients" that he was a highly educated member of the landed gentry who would use US security services to vet potential investors.

In fact he had run a string of failed businesses and was subject to an outstanding warrant for cheque fraud in Florida.

It was discovered Brown had spent the proceeds of his crimes on a life of luxury.

He owned a £2.5m jet, in which he flew Mr Kennedy and other senior Liberal Democrats across the UK, along with a Range Rover with the number plate 5 AVE, a Bentley, a Porsche and a £400,000 ocean-going yacht.

He rented a £49,000 apartment along with an office in Mayfair and his large Mallorcan mansion was close to the holiday home of the model Claudia Schiffer.

There he would entertain friends with an outdoor cinema installed at a cost of £327,000. He even claimed to have met the Duke of York at Buckingham Palace and boasted of his connections with the US embassy.

Awaiting trial in June 2008, Brown jumped bail while living in Hampstead. Weeks earlier, he changed his name to Campbell-Brown on bank documents and the electoral roll. It was said he had grown a full grey beard and applied for credit cards using his new name before going on the run.

CINEMA AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: Made To Be Seen

Made to be Seen brings together leading scholars of visual anthropology to examine the historical development of this multifaceted and growing field. Expanding the definition of visual anthropology beyond more limited notions, the contributors to Made to be Seen reflect on the role of the visual in all areas of life. Different essays critically examine a range of topics: art, dress and body adornment, photography, the built environment, digital forms of visual anthropology, indigenous media, the body as a cultural phenomenon, the relationship between experimental and ethnographic film, and more. The first attempt to present a comprehensive overview of the many aspects of an anthropological approach to the study of visual and pictorial culture, Made to be Seen will be the standard reference on the subject for years to come. Students and scholars in anthropology, sociology, visual studies, and cultural studies will greatly benefit from this pioneering look at the way the visual is inextricably threaded through most, if not all, areas of human activity.

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