‘I’ve been digging into Lee Andrews for months – and the story doesn’t stack up’

OPINION: A journalist who has been investigating Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews since before he hit the headlines is asking questions about the alleged Dubai kidnap story

Lee Andrews has been on my radar for nearly as long as he’s been on Katie Price’s. The Dubai businessman hasn’t escaped the headlines since he tied the knot with Katie in a whirlwind romance at the start of this year. Less than five months into his rise to fame, Lee has already gone ‘missing’.

He was scheduled to be in the UK for an exclusive interview alongside Katie on Good Morning Britain a few weeks ago, but he failed to catch his flight. From there, events took a dramatic twist, but no one could foresee what would unfold next.

His wife Katie alleged that Lee had been ‘kidnapped’ and FaceTimed her, claiming he had been bound with cable ties by his supposed captors. Since then, even more outlandish claims have surfaced, including him sending texts stating he had been detained and arrested, only to later retract those statements.

Katie was accused of ‘exploiting’ the purported ‘kidnap’ by Lee’s mother Trisha, while over the weekend, Lee’s father asserted that his son is incarcerated in Dubai, a claim that Katie has dismissed as ‘fake news’. Keeping up? No, me neither.

As journalists, we’re naturally at the cutting edge of the news. The Mirror first reported that Lee Andrews had been jailed in Dubai last year. Back in February, we disclosed that Lee had served time behind bars, a claim which he denied.

A fellow Brit claimed to us that he shared a cell in Dubai Central Prison with Lee for three weeks in October last year, labelling Katie’s new husband as a “scammer” of the highest order. February marked the first – and last – time I spoke to Lee.

We reached out to him to see if he had any comments. He did. In two lengthy voice notes, sent minutes apart, Lee responded to the allegations but his next move took me by surprise.

At the end of the voice note, he told me: “Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Thank you for giving me the heads up.” Not the typical response when we approach someone with allegations about something as serious as prison and being labelled a ‘scammer’.

Things became confusing again – even more so now. When someone goes missing or is detained abroad, the first point of contact is usually the Foreign Office. We’ve contacted them multiple times and the only response we’ve ever received is: “We are supporting the family of a British man and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Despite further news emerging about Lee’s alleged ‘kidnap’ and his father’s claims that he is in prison in Dubai, the Foreign Office have never deviated from their original statement. A peculiar move in itself.

When the Foreign Office was approached by Good Morning Britain following his failure to catch a flight to the UK for the programme, a spokesperson informed the show that a British citizen had been detained in the United Arab Emirates. Katie refuted that this was Lee and subsequently, he posted on his own social media claiming he had not been detained in an even more peculiar twist.

Katie has insisted she is ‘stepping back’ from the entire situation – before releasing her most recent video update on the affair – and stated she was leaving matters with the authorities including Interpol. We have approached Interpol repeatedly but are still awaiting a response.

What remains baffling is that Lee’s resumed phone usage (he’s reportedly been spotted online numerous times despite being ‘kidnapped’) hasn’t resolved the narrative that Lee is ‘missing’. No abductors would permit phone access.

Investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas, who played a significant role online in covering and discussing the tragic deaths of Jay Slater and Nicola Bulley, has highlighted the perplexing reality that there’s been no ransom demand – a typical tactic when someone is abducted. Even Katie acknowledged her surprise at receiving no ransom requests.

So where is Lee Andrews? Uncertain. Who is Lee Andrews? He’s simply a ‘missing’ individual who seemingly still has access to (one of) his three phones. Draw your own conclusions.

Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here

Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter