Ex-S.A.S. guards for Chris Lewis

Press, 9 July 1983, Page 1

Ex-S.A.S. guards for Chris Lewis

From

DIANA DEKKER

in London

Chris Lewis joined the stars in more ways than one when he soared into the finals of the men’s singles at Wimbledon last week. From the time of his semi-final success he was guarded round the clock by six former S.A.S. men at a cost of £lOO ($237) each an hour. The man who runs the protection company that provided the "minders” said yesterday that neither Chris

Lewis nor the Wimbledon organisers had paid for the expensive service. “I won’t discuss who our clients were,” said Mr Michael Ryan. “We also looked after Jimmy Connors and McEnroe. McEnroe is sponsored by many large companies.” Mr Ryan said his men were highly trained and worked "mostly in the background.” He had 30 men working for him full-time and another 30 on call in a company which was not re-

gistered in Britain. Other clients included show business celebrities and political figures. “If you want the best you have to pay for it,” he said. He said his company had been approached to guard Lewis after his semi-final win and after that he had been guarded round the clock until the day after the finals. “I had never even heard of him before that, but he had the best of treatment,” Mr Ryan said.