Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was detained in Portugal after police found a shotgun on his private jet.

Bernie Ecclestone, 95, says Portuguese police subjected him to ‘wall-to-wall aggravation’ after he was stopped at an airport for illegally carrying a shotgun – which he claims was for clay-pigeon shooting.

Portuguese authorities stopped him after discovering the firearm, which he had brought into the country without the required paperwork, and subjected him to an hour-long “wall-to-wall aggravation.”

Ecclestone admitted he had travelled with the gun without the correct documentation: ‘I had a gun that I was bringing over from Switzerland to Portugal for clay-pigeon shooting. It’s as simple as that. I have guns at home there that are licensed.

He said police kept him at the airport for several hours. His wife, Fabiana Flosi, has travelled to Lisbon to deal with the authorities and resolve the matter, including surrendering the gun or paying any required fees. The incident comes four years after Ecclestone was arrested in Brazil when police found an undocumented pistol in his luggage at an airport. He paid bail and was allowed to leave the country.