• Adam Barker, 44, jumped bail in June 2004 after being arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography
• He handed himself in at a West London police station this morning and was charged with making indecent images of children
• Police allegedly found 1,200 indecent images of children on a computer after raiding his West London home in 2003
• Ronnie Barker never spoke about his son’s disappearance but was said to have been devastated

By Rebecca Camber
UPDATED: 07:17 EST, 24 July 2012

The fugitive son of the late comedian Ronnie Barker has been arrested in London and charged with making indecent images of children after eight years on the run.

Adam Barker, 44, jumped bail in June 2004 after being arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography.

But this morning, he handed himself in at a West London police station and was charged with making indecent images of children.

The fugitive, who was a struggling actor at the time of his disappearance, was left more than £2 million in his mother’s will – but it remains unclear whether he will collect his inheritance.

Police allegedly found 1,200 indecent images of children on a computer after raiding his West London home as part of an international investigation into the use of child pornography websites in 2003.

Barker, who appeared in the ITV detective series Wycliffe, was arrested as part of Operation Ore, the UK’s largest-ever police hunt for paedophiles who used their credit cards to pay for child porn on the internet.

He was allegedly one of 7,000 British men identified as subscribers to an American internet portal that allowed access to child porn sites across Europe and Asia.

He was first arrested on 3 June 2003 and bailed to a west London police station until 24 June 2004, but he went on the run.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Adam Barker, 44, an actor of no fixed abode has today, Tuesday 24 July, been charged with five counts of making indecent images of children.

‘He will appear in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court this afternoon, Tuesday 24 July.’

Family: Adam Barker is pictured, left, with his father Ronnie, right

Actor: Adam Barker appeared in the ITV detective series Wycliffe. He is pictured far right as DS Ian Potter with the rest of the cast in the crime drama

Ronnie Barker, who entertained millions in shows such as The Two Ronnies, Porridge and Open All Hours, never spoke about his son’s disappearance but was said to have been devastated.

He stayed away from his mother Joy’s funeral in January 2011 after she died aged 78 after a short illness.

He also missed his father’s funeral six-and-a-half years ago, which was monitored by detectives.

Family: Ronnie Barker, who died in October 2005, is pictured with Adam on his first day at school in 1972

Happier times: Ronnie Barker was said to have been devastated by Adam's disappearance. Adam is pictured, bottom right, with Ronnie, his mother Joy, top right, and brother Larry, top left, and sister Charlotte

His mother, who lived in the Cotswolds, left £6,520,426 in her will to be split equally between their three children.

Adam, his brother Larry, 51, and sister Charlotte, 48, were due to receive about £1,340,000 each after inheritance tax and other expenses.

Experts said there appeared to be no legal reason why Adam should be denied his share of the money, although there could be ethical objections.