A criminal investigation has been launched into the alleged abduction of Alex Batty, who returned to the UK last week after six years missing abroad, Greater Manchester Police said.

The teenager went missing aged 11 in 2017 after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.

Alex landed in the UK on Saturday having been found by chiropody student Fabien Accidini near the French city of Toulouse last week after walking across the Pyrenees.

Officers in the UK interviewed the 17-year-old after his return from France and a criminal investigation has been launched, GMP said.

Alex left his mother for a better future, telling The Sun she was “a great person but not a great mum”.

The teenager, who is now under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, Susan Caruana, in Oldham said his mother was “anti-government, anti-vax”, whose catchphrase was “becoming a slave to the system”.

He had become fed up with his nomadic lifestyle, with “no friends” and “no social life”.

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

Alex was picked up by chiropody student Fabien Accidini near the French city of Toulouse in the early hours of December 13 after he said he had walked across the Pyrenees ‘for four days and four nights’.

However, Alex has now revealed that he made up the story to try to protect his mother and grandfather, who he says is still alive, following claims from French prosecutors that he may have died.

Instead, Alex trekked for 70 miles over two days to reach Toulouse, sleeping outside on the ground in ‘freezing’ conditions.

He told The Sun: “I’ve been lying to try and protect my mum and grandad but I realise that they’re probably gonna get caught anyway.

“I pretended I had been on such a long journey for that reason.”

Speaking about his mother, Melanie Batty, in an interview with the paper, he said: “She’s a great person and I love her but she’s just not a great mum.

“I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I’m gonna leave because I can’t live with her.”

The teenager – who is under the legal guardianship of his grandmother Susan Caruana in Oldham – said his mother was “anti-government, anti-vax” whose catchphrase was “becoming a slave to the system”.

“I realised it wasn’t a great way to live for my future,” he continued.

“Moving around. No friends, no social life. Working, working, work and not studying. That’s the life I imagined I would be leading if I were to stay with my mum.”