James BryceA KEEN member of Cambridge Squash Club, the friendly father-of-two apparently earned his living working at a local IT company.
Living in an otherwise average suburban street with his wife and two children, Cyril Macq, was known as ‘a regular dad’ who was ‘quiet and polite’.
But behind the cheery exterior of this apparently French immigrant to England was a cold hearted murderer who had also attempted to kill the King of Spain.
It emerged last week that Macq was actually Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui, a man long listed as Spain’s most wanted terrorist – said to be a key member in the command structure of terror group Eta.
Arronategui was wanted for the murder of a policeman, who he had killed before fleeing from Spain’s prestigious Guggenheim Museum in October 1997.
He had been involved in a botched assassination attempt on King Juan Carlos in which a police officer was killed.
He allegedly hijacked three cars to escape, following the incident in the Guggenheim Gardens, shooting a policeman in the attempt.
Incredibly he was able to immerse himself in British culture and mascarade, it is understood, for the best part of five years entirely undetected.
That was until a Spanish holidaymaker spotted him at his sports club and tipped off the police.
He was arrested by armed police following a raid on his three-bedroom terraced house in leafy Arbury.
When arrested his neighbours could not believe that he could be a terrorist, let alone Spanish.
Squash club chairman, Steve Casey, said: “He’s a great guy and a great secretary at the club. I’m blown away by the news – I’m really staggered.”
He appeared before City of Westminster magistrates where he refused to agree to being extradited to Spain and was remanded in custody.
