The wealthy donor who left Sinn Féin £1.5m (€1.65m) in his will allegedly mutilated himself after he was accused of having an affair with a married woman.

It is understood that while living in Rainham in Kent some 40 years ago, William Edward Hampton was accused of having an affair with a neighbour's wife.

'The Times' reported that Mr Hampton was so angered by the allegation that he marched onto the road with a kitchen knife and sliced off his own penis before telling the neighbour: "I've never touched any woman and I never will."

Mr Hampton, who died last year aged 82, was living in a mobile home in Ireland when he made his last will and testament in which he left the massive donation to Sinn Féin.

After mutilating himself, Mr Hampton was admitted to a psychiatric unit in Kent where he befriended fellow patient Rosalind Morton, who was receiving treatment for depression.

"He was a lovely man but he had his issues," she told 'The Times'.

Ms Morton (67), who is a retired care worker, was left £5,000 in Mr Hampton's will.

She said he left the bulk of his £2.6m (€2.87m) estate to Sinn Féin to annoy the British government and maintained he had no ties to the party.

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Mr Hampton kept in touch with Ms Morton and her husband Dave over the years, before his death at a nursing home in Wales in January last year.

She said the former mechanic had "issues" and "believed people were out for his money - the accountants, the government, whoever".

"He would go off on his own in his caravan and come back once or twice a year to tell us about his adventures.

"He would go to Thailand and sleep on the streets," she said.

He wrote letters and postcards to Ms Morton, including one from Wales in 2001 which told of his hatred of England.

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The letter read: "It was England that kicked me into the hands of Sinn Féin by 15 years of acts of terrorism, fraud, lies and deceits too numerous to mention."

Sinn Féin would not say last week if Mr Hampton was a member of the party or if any attempts were made to discourage him from leaving his family's fortune to the party.

Irish Independent