Former world No 1 tennis player Boris Becker has insisted he has a genuine diplomatic passport from the Central African Republic after officials dismissed it as a fake.



The retired German tennis star, who claims his role as an attache to the EU gives him diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy proceedings in the UK, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I have received this passport from the ambassador. I have spoken to the president on many occasions. It was an official inauguration. I believe the documents they are giving me must be right.”

The three-times Wimbledon champion has faced a series of denials from CAR officials about the issue, including from the foreign minister, Charles Armel Doubane. The presidential spokesman, Albert Yaloke Mokpeme, said the head of state never appointed Becker to the post.

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The presidency said: “We are not custodians of the physical and moral integrity of this gentleman.”

Asked if he would be willing to go back to the CAR to sort out the controversy, Becker told the BBC: “I am very happy to visit Bangui, the capital, and to speak to the people personally about how we can move forward and resolve this misunderstanding and this confusion.

“I have a real passport. It is at the embassy in Brussels the last time I checked.”

Becker was appointed attache to the European Union on sporting, cultural and humanitarian affairs by the Central African Republic in April.

His lawyers told a court in London last week that the position was covered by the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and meant he could not be subjected to any legal proceedings without the consent of the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and his counterpart in Bangui.

He was declared bankrupt in June 2017 by registrar Christine Derrett. The bankruptcy was due to be discharged but Becker’s lawyers told the court he agreed to the suspension of the discharge so the issue of his diplomatic immunity could be investigated further.