Why did peer’s widow brand Lady Judge a b***h at party?
Cher presence at a recent royal academy party caused an astonishing outburst from fellow guest Estelle Wolfson, the widow of shops tycoon Lord Wolfson.
On spotting 71-year-old Lady Judge across the room, Lady Wolfson — whose husband died in 2010 aged 82 — declared: ‘ I can’t stand her. She’s the biggest b***h going and I don’t like b***hes. She thinks too much of herself.’
Lady Wolfson’s ire, it transpired, stemmed from an incident in 1992 when Barbara allegedly flirted with her husband. ‘I met her when she first came to London and I was at a dinner in the V&a,’ explained Lady Wolfson. ‘She flirted so much with my late husband. I don’t like people who go after other people’s husbands.
‘The next day we got a letter from her inviting only my husband to lunch, so my husband wrote back and said: ONTrOVErSIaL lawyer Barbara Judge, who resigned from the Institute of Directors amid allegations of racist, sexist and abusive behaviour, has form when it comes to making enemies.
“Dear so and so — or whoever she was married to at the time — I’m afraid I’m very busy, my wife and I unfortunately are unable to join you for lunch.”’
Barbara Judge, a New York-born corporate lawyer once dubbed ‘the best connected woman in Britain’, was married to allen Thomas from 1979 until 2001, with whom she has one son.
known for her pie-crust collar shirts and bespoke skirt suits, she went on to marry multi-millionaire Tory grandee Sir Paul Judge in 2002 and remained with him until his death last year.
In March, she resigned as chair of the Institute of Directors and faced 41 claims, including saying: ‘Blacks can get aggressive.’ Lady Judge said: ‘I deeply regret the language I used.’
When I approached Lady Judge at the Royal academy party she told me she was off to Japan where she would be watching the Royal Wedding.
‘I’ve met a few of them [the Royal Family]. They’ve always been charming to me and I’m american. I’ve been very lucky to have been welcomed into Britain.’