A man was mistakenly arrested at Glasgow Airport over suspicions he was a French fugitive accused of killing his wife and four children, police confirmed.

It was widely reported late on Friday evening that a man held at the Scottish airport was Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, who is believed to have been on the run for eight years. 

An investigating source reportedly said the suspect had been found “travelling under a false identity and had changed his appearance completely”, the Mirror reported. 

 However, on Saturday morning a spokesperson from the French police told Associated Press that French and Scottish investigators had determined the man’s fingerprints did not match those of de Ligonnès. 

The de Ligonnès family disappeared in April 2011. Police later discovered five bodies with gunshot wounds, who were identified as de Ligonnès wife Agnes, 49, and his four children – Tomas, 21, Arthur, 18, Anne, 16, and Benoit, 13. 

The family were found buried in the garden of the family home in Nantes, western France, alongside their two pet labradors.  

Xavier was the only family member never found, and became the chief suspect.

French police have been searching for him ever since.