Former High Wycombe schoolboy and ex-spy David Shayler has proclaimed that he is the new Messiah.

Shayler, who attended John Hampden Grammar School, has called a news conference this afternoon at which he will claim that he has been chosen by a high power to save the planet.

The former MI5 man, who was jailed in 2002 for passing classified information to national newspapers, says: "I am the last incarnation of the Holy Ghost (aka the Holy Spirit) or the Yeshua or Jesus Spirit (aka the Christ consciousness).

"As the Holy Spirit is God incarnate as essence, I am God incarnated as spirit and man.

He said: "It is absolutely clear to me that the world is going to hell in a handcart. Few would dispute that humanity needs a Messiah to get it through these difficult times."

"This is all rather embarrassing for someone who was an atheist technocrat three years ago. And I am painfully aware how mad all this sounds," he added.