And finally…I’m not Saddam, that’s insane!

Apple has apologised to a British customer for holding up his refund for a returned iPhone as after claiming it was concerned he might, in fact, be the executed Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein.

The Californian-based technology retail giant told Sharakat Hussain, 26, that he was on the government’s Denied Parties list, a status which made it illegal for him to have been sold an iPhone.

According to the Daily Mail, Hussain, who is from Birmingham where he works as a driver, reportedly bought the device for £799 as a gift for his sister but tried to get his money back when she rejected it.

Due to the high cost of the model he purchased, Hussain was then told he would receive his money via bank transfer.

But after waiting for several weeks Hussain eventually received an email from Apple in which he was asked to supply proof that he was not in fact the deposed dictator, who was hanged at an Iraqi army base in 2006.

And while the customer’s first name is different and his surname is also spelled differently, Apple staff still managed to confuse the two.

Hussain told The Sun newspaper that he “thought the email was spam, I was stunned to learn it was real. I was furious to be linked to Saddam.”

Apple has since vowed to expedite the refund and a spokeswoman offered the company’s “sincerest apologies” to Mr. Hussain.