No more 'cult' following

ALEXANDER Barnes-Ross was just 15 when he became part of the Church of Scientology. In a “vulnerable” state, he says, he visited their “Life Improvement Centre” in central London.

- ANDREA OLDEREIDE

He asked about the group's more unusual teachings - for example, that an extraterrestrial warlord called Xenu is the true source of all human suffering - but says the people he spoke to “flat-out denied it”.

Instead, they gave him a personality test, known as the Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA), to assess his strengths and weaknesses. They claimed to be able to help with the latter through a system called Dianetics.

Invented by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, it's a form of counselling said to tackle “unreasonable fears, upsets, insecurities and psychosomatic illnesses”. And before long, Alexander was hooked.

Despite his age he soon got signed up as a staff member, selling books and administering the same test to recruit new Scientologists.

Alexander, 30, says: “I got awards and commendations for being one of the top recruiters in Scientology.

“David Miscavige, the leader of the church, actually sent a film team to fly over from LA to the UK to film me and what my team were doing because we were so successful. But the thing is, you think you're helping people.

“Because Scientologists think that their way of doing things is not just a way of helping people. It's the only way of helping mankind.”