Neil Sankey, who has almost 20 years experience serving in Special Branch and   the Bomb Squad, is now devoting his energies to proving that Mr Obama is not   a natural born US citizen.

He joined the Birthers after meeting Orly Taitz, one of the leaders of the   group, which disputes Mr Obama’s claim that he was born in Hawaii.

Over the past year, Mr Sankey has been integral in some of the most aggressive   efforts to remove him from office by claiming that his presidency is   illegitimate.

He tried to block Obama’s inauguration last year by contacting all 538   electoral college representatives who formally elect the president.

Mr Sankey has also carried out an investigation into Mr Obama’s personal   identification history which he claims shows a suspicious number of social   security numbers

He has refuted allegations that his attempts are racially motivated, claiming   that he disagrees with Mr Obama’s politics and is convinced that he is not   genuine.

Mr Sankey, who moved to California in the 1980s to set up his own private   detective agency, told the Guardian: “The objection is not Obama’s colour   but his politics.

“I like him as a person, I just wish he was genuine.

“It’s quite obvious to me — America is heading towards a socialised state just   as has happened in Europe. Socialised medicine, everyone on the dole, and   when everything collapses you tip the scales into Marxism.”

Mr Sankey joined Hampshire Police in 1961 before being seconded as a detective   sergeant to Scotland Yard. During the 1970s he tracked left wing political   groups and the IRA. He became a naturalised American in 1985.

He believes that his British police training is proving crucial to the work he   is now pursuing for the Birthers. He said he uses the same techniques he   employed to analyse the IRA’s associations, to trace Mr Obama’s past.

Taitz added: “He has had superb training. I have the greatest respect for   Scotland Yard.”

Most recently, Mr Sankey carried out a search of databases that he claims   produced 140 different identification numbers and addresses for “Barack   Obama”. He admits the findings prove nothing — there is nothing to link   the entries to the president — but he believes it raises further doubts that   need investigating.

He told the Guardian that his fascination with Mr Obama’s heritage began with   the realisation “that this man wasn’t what he said he was. He wasn’t an   ordinary Democrat — he was far more extreme than that.”

During the 2008 US presidential election, rumours began to circulate on the   internet that Barack Obama had not been born in the US, and was therefore   not eligible for the presidency.

Mr Obama’s campaign rebutted the claims, publishing his birth certificate   proving that he was born in Hawaii, however, conspiracy theorists have   dismissed it as a forgery.

Doubters believe that Mr Obama was born in Kenya and that he cannot be   president because the US constitution states that “no person except a   natural born citizen… shall be eligible to the office of President”.

A number of lawsuits have been filed by people who question Mr Obama’s   eligibility, including Taitz, but all of them have been dismissed at the   earliest stages.

 

Obama in Burma