THE mother of a British sailor suspected of being the captain of Vladimir Putin’s superyacht has said she would be ‘rather furious’ if her son worked for the Russian dictator.
Former merchant seaman Guy Bennett-Pearce, 43, declined to comment from his home in Italy last night, telling The Sun: ‘I can’t say anything because of legal confidentiality.
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But his mother Debbie, 64, slammed the Russian bully, saying the thought of her son working for him: “It might make me a little mad”.
Speaking from her home near Taunton in Somerset, she said: “I’m sure Guy wouldn’t work for someone like that. I’m his mum, hope he would have told me if he was.
“I don’t think for a second that Guy would work for this murderer. He never mentioned any of his clients, it’s just speculation.
It comes as The Sun revealed the sickening luxury Putin enjoys aboard his £500million superyacht which includes tasteless gold toilet roll holders.
Mad Vlad, whose forces are bombing women and children in Ukraine, spared no expense on the six-deck Scheherazade.
Pressure is mounting on Italy, where the yacht is anchored, to seize it and resell it for the benefit of the Ukrainians.
A former crew member said: ‘The Russians paid for it. Putin needs his head to sink on that golden throne.
The official cost of Scheherazade, when completed two years ago, was $700 million – but insiders say it could be closer to $1 billion.
Images obtained by The Sun show six luxury decks, and a worker who helped build it said: “Everything on board is the best in the world.
“Every surface is marble or gold. There are countless swimming pools, a spa, a sauna, a theater, ballrooms, a gym, two helipads. It’s like a mini town.
“There is even a hospital that makes sense when you hear rumors that Putin is terminally ill.
“It’s hard to swallow the fact that the most incredible ship in the world belongs to a man who intends to bomb civilians in Ukraine.
“And that’s unimaginable wealth when the average Russian salary is £5,000 a year and people there are struggling to eat.”
Since September 2020, the 459-foot-long floating palace, named after a legendary Persian queen, has been moored in Marina di Carrara in Italy.
Rumors that Putin owned the yacht have been circulating since it was built.
But its ownership was not investigated until the team of imprisoned Putin critic Alexei Navalny released a video on Monday detailing the crew – all believed to be Russian security.
Italian authorities have now been told to seize the yacht. It is said that a separate European crew is only allowed on board when Putin is away.
The despot’s personal notes are evident in a judo hall that has framed photos of black belts.
A tiled dance floor lowers to turn into a swimming pool. The floor is believed to be one of two in the world – with the other on Putin’s other yacht, Graceful.
Other indulgences include a self-leveling billiard table, a five-meter aquarium and the largest television ever built on a yacht, which cost a million euros to install.
The bathrooms are adorned with toilet roll holders and gold taps.
The former crew member added: “All over the world, yachts owned by oligarchs are being seized, but the Schehezade is sitting there in plain sight in a marina in Italy.
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
Flight details, obtained by Navalny’s team, reportedly show the Russian crew were flying together to Milan, the nearest airport.
They believe they were visiting the port to watch the ship.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat told The Sun: ‘Putin’s pampered nautical palace was launched with money stolen from the Russian people and is now floating off the Italian Riviera, showing us all the steps we should be taking.
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