Clip shows I was bugged in hotel, says former Ritz tycoon
BILLIONAIRE tycoon Frederick Barclay released extraordinary footage that appears to show his nephew Alistair fitting a bug device in the Ritz conservatory to eavesdrop on him.
Sir Frederick claims the son of his twin brother Sir David listened in on commercial secrets when the family were trying to sell the landmark London hotel.
The 85-year-old property and media baron says Alistair and three other Barclay family members heard 1,000 private chats, spanning more than 90 hours of recordings.
Details of the alleged commercial snooping emerged in preliminary High Court hearings.
Sir Frederick and his daughter Amanda are suing Sir David’s sons Alistair, Aidan and Howard, Aidan’s son Andrew plus Philip Peters, a director of the family’s firm Ellerman Investments. Their
claim is for invasion of privacy, breach of confidence and data protection laws.
Sir Frederick and his daughter claim the surveillance gave the men commercial advantage and they sold the Ritz in March for half its market value.
The covert footage reveals a man, resembling Alistair, wearing a hoodie in the Ritz conservatory. The 30-year-old businessman is alleged to have been captured acting suspiciously late on January 13.
Sir Frederick, who built up with Sir David an estimated £7billion fortune, said yesterday: “I do not want anyone else to go through the awful experience of having their personal and private conversations listened to by scores of strangers. It is in everyone’s interests for the law to be changed to prevent people, outside the authorities, using sophisticated spying devices.
“I am putting this video evidence forward as a graphic demonstration of how easy it is to spy on people in public places.”
The claim stems from a falling out between the children of the twins. Hefin Rees QC, Sir Frederick’s barrister, said his client placed “great trust” in Aidan and Howard to run their father’s business empire. But after discovering they had eavesdropped on discussions with lawyers, bankers and business associates, he had been “left to contemplate his nephew’s betrayal”.
A formal defence to the High Court claim has not yet been filed and a trial is due to take place at a later date.