Scientology Targets British Celebrities

SCIENTOLOGISTS tried to woo British stars to raise the church’s profile on this side of the Atlantic, claims a former top recruiter.
Celebrities including Madonna’s ex-husband Guy Ritchie, veteran rocker Peter Gabriel and Belfast-born superstar Van Morrison were on their target list.

And the church still has a file on ex-Beatle George Harrison, who died aged 58 in 2001, says John Duignan in his controversial new book.

He claims Scientology leaders want UK celebrities to do what Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley have done in America.

Scottish-born Duignan, 45, spent 22 years in the controversial church before taking charge of Scientology Missions International in the UK.

His new book The Complex has already caused uproar over claims that Cruise “put pressure” on online retail giants Amazon to stop selling it.

Duignan said he was given the task of “trying to pull the UK missions out of the mire”.

He said: “Scientology is always on the look-out for actual and potential celebrities.
We established contact with Guy Ritchie, who had just released Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

“One of our people managed to get a meeting with him to talk about movie ¬production. Ritchie didn’t know he’d be talking to Scientologists.”
There was excitement at the time but nothing seemed to come of their efforts.

“The singer Peter Gabriel was very much on the radar and Van Morrison was also the subject of a report.”

When Duignan took over at Scientology’s UK HQ in East Grinstead, West Sussex, he found papers which said Harrison had bought Scientology literature but had given up interest.

Duignan fled the church two years ago to go into hiding in Ireland. His book, The Complex, is published by Merlin and is only available at present in Ireland.