And finally… ‘He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot’

An “idiot” who hijacked a plane in an apparent bid to contact his ex-wife posed for a photo with a brave Aberdeen man before his dramatic arrest yesterday.

The world watched as EgyptAir flight MS181 landed in Cyprus after being hijacked by a man said to be wearing an explosive belt.

An Aberdeen man among the flight’s passengers stayed remarkably calm during the tense situation - and asked the hijacker for a cheeky photograph.

He sent the picture to his friends and it later went viral on social media.

Ben Innes told The Sun: “I figured if his bomb was real I’d nothing lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.

“I got one of the cabin crew to translate for me and asked him if I could do a selfie with him.

“He just shrugged OK so I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever.”

It later emerged that the explosive belt was a harmless fake and the motivation for the hijacking may have been related to the hijacker’s estranged ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus.

Following the hijacker’s arrest yesterday, Egyptian security forces said the incident was not terrorism-related.

A spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry added: “He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren’t stupid. This guy is.”

  • Contributions from SLN readers to our “And finally” section are welcome – they should be sent to: newsdesk@scottishnews.com
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