Airpolice,
I, too, like Private Eye, but where on Earth would they have got the idea or created the story that he'd been on 1 Sqn, flown Harriers, had been a Sqn Ldr, etc...unless he had provided it to the Journalist?
He was filling an SO2 role, it seems, as a civilian. SO2 = Sqn Ldr (sort of), but there is a clear disconnect in this story and his Linked-In page. However, like a lot of SP, my Linked-In page is rather sparse, having been advised to purge it in preparation for my current posts. But I agree, the Eye should have investigated this more deeply.