Sorrell brothel is in f lat owned by Defence Minister’s family trust
THE Mayfair brothel at the heart of the Sir Martin Sorrell scandal is run from a flat owned by a defence minister’s family trust, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The seedy apartment – which the shamed City mogul was allegedly spotted visiting – belongs to the trustees of the family trust of Earl Howe, who is also the deputy leader of the House of Lords.
The trust has owned the flat, 50A Shepherd Market, along with more than 50 other Mayfair properties, for centuries.
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence declined to comment on whether there were any security concerns about a defence minister having a property used as a brothel.
There is no suggestion that Earl Howe, 67 – the Government’s defence spokesman in the Lords – had any knowledge about what went on at the London flat.
His family trust, Howe Settled Estates, owns the freehold to the flat, which is understood to have a 999-year lease, and Earl Howe has no control over the leasehold owner’s use of it.
The £1.3million flat above a bookmaker has a single bedroom festooned with neon red lighting.
Bondage gear and a nurse’s uniform were hanging over the bedroom door when the Mail visited on Monday, and a call girl wearing lacy black lingerie was offering ‘whatever you want’ for £160.
Multi-millionaire advertising mogul Sir Martin, 73, the former head of advertising giant WPP, allegedly spent £300 there and then claimed it on expenses – an allegation he strenuously denies.
Two of his employees having a drink in Shepherd Market, a piazza full of upmarket bars and restaurants, are said to have spotted him going into 50A on June 6 last year.
It led to an investigation by WPP, which Sir Martin founded, into alleged ‘personal misconduct’ and possible misuse of company funds, and ultimately resulted in his resignation as chief executive in April. He has consistently denied all the allegations.
A woman working at the brothel yesterday claimed it had operated in the same property for around a century.
‘This place has probably been open for 100 years. The lady I knew who worked here before me had been here for 35 years and the lady before her was here for 30 years,’ she said.
The prostitute Sir Martin allegedly paid was English, she claimed. The woman who has worked at 50A Shepherd Market for more than three years, an Eastern Eurowhich pean, added: ‘She’s not from my country. She’s English … She uses a lot of different names.’
Another prostitute, going by the name of Scarlett, who used to work at the brothel, said a friend of Sir Martin’s was a client of hers. She said: ‘I have a client who is a friend of his and he sent me the article saying, “Look what they’re doing to my friend”.’ The flat – welcomes visitors with a lurid pink sign inside the front door announcing ‘beautiful model’ – is one of the smaller Mayfair properties owned by the family trust of Earl Howe.
Sources close to him said neither he nor the estate had any knowledge of the tenants, nor any right to know.
They added that the leaseholder was ‘entirely unconnected’ to Earl Howe or his estate.
Earl Howe – whose full name is Frederick Richard Penn Curzon and who is the seventh person to hold the title – effectively inherited vast swathes of land and properties via the family trust.
Land Registry documents show the empire in London at one point comprised more than 50 Mayfair properties worth many tens of millions of pounds. Some 20 of them were recently sold for a whopping £46million.
The property empire also includes Buckinghamshire mansion Penn House, the centrepiece of a 1,550-acre estate situated in one of the prettiest parts of the Chilterns. Some 30 smaller properties on the estate are rented out.
The Penn estate was formerly occupied by society figure Lady Charlotte Curzon – the aunt of Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas. When her father, the 6th Earl Howe, died in 1984 without a male heir, the title and wealth went to her cousin, then known as Fred Curzon.
The family motto – ‘Let Curzon holde what Curzon helde’ – declares the family’s commitment to preserving wealth.
Educated at Rugby School and Christ Church college, Oxford, Earl Howe began his career at Barclays Bank and served in a number of managerial and senior managerial posts both overseas and in London.
In the Lords, he has held several Government posts over three decades. As a junior minister for defence in the mid-1990s, a political row blew up when Princess Diana called for a complete ban on landmines and he labelled her a ‘loose cannon’ – adding that she was ill-informed on the issue of anti-personnel landmines.
His recent voting records shows he has been in line with the Government on Brexit votes.
Last night a spokesman for Earl Howe declined to comment. The Ministry of Defence said: ‘It is a personal matter.’
Alex Brummer – Page 61
‘Leaseholder is unconnected’