IN A BUTE OF BOTHER
Marquess and daughter ‘broke Covid rules’ to flee London for a Scottish isle... but face just £30 fine
A SUPER- RICH motor r acing aristocrat and his socialite daughter have been accused of flouting the coronavirus lockdown rules – but face merely a paltry £30 fine.
The Marquess of Bute, who competed in Formula 1 under the name Johnny Dumfries in the 1980s, is said to have fled London’s Tier Four restrictions for his ancestral home on the Isle of Bute.
The 62-year-old and his daughter Lady Lola, 21, are believed to have travelled with five others to the island, where infection rates are a fraction of those in London.
They are said to have made the 360-mile journey to the Firth of Clyde after the latest clampdown came into force early on Sunday, allegedly breaking both Scottish and English lockdown rules. Among those believed to have
‘Three men and four women face charges’
been in the group was a 90-year-old woman. Lady Lola appeared to acknowledge the breach in an Instagram post this week, the Sun reported. The model is said to have filmed herself wearing a life jacket on a dinghy on her way to Bute.
She gave a thumbs up to her 16,000 followers in images no longer viewable on Instagram with the caption ‘Tier 4 journey’. Yesterday the socialite posted videos of herself baking a chocolate fudge and coffee cake. The 7th Marquess, also known as John Crichton-Stuart and John Colum Bute, is worth an estimated £125million.
He has several properties on Bute, including historic Mount Stuart House, which can be hired as a wedding venue for £24,000, and a family cottage.
He previously owned Dumfries House near Cumnock, Ayrshire, which Prince Charles bought through his Prince’s Foundation for £45million in 2007.
The family’s cottage on Bute is where Lady Lola isolated at the beginning of the pandemic.
In March, Vogue cover girl Adwoa Aboah, 27, Game Of Thrones actress Jazzy de Lisser – Lola’s half- sister – and Ruby Boglione, the youngest daughter of Petersham Nurseries founders Gael and Francesco, were photographed on the island with her.
In June she marked her 21st birthday with three celebrations, including a party which faced claims of flouting the Covid rules on gatherings. Last year she said she had ‘lost all hope’ when her long-term boyfriend took his life and her best friend was found dead from a suspected drug overdose.
She has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities helping to treat mental health problems and addiction.
Lady Lola’s mother is fashion designer Serena Bute, the marquess’s second wife. She has two children from her first marriage to Jamaica-born grandee Robert de Lisser – Jazzy and a son, Joshua.
The marquess, who has two daughters and a son from his first marriage, normally resides at his home in London. A mutant strain of Covid-19 has been circulating the capital in high numbers.
However, infections in Argyll and Bute are just 37.3 per 100,000 – barely a tenth of the rate across London.
A ban on travel to and from Tier Four areas in England, which include London, came into force just after midnight on Sunday, a day after Nicola Sturgeon announced a ban on cross-Border travel. Bute is in the relatively low
Level Two. The aristocrat will only have to pay a token fine if the breach is proven or admitted.
Police have the power to issue a £60 penalty to rule-breakers, but this is halved if they pay promptly.
Repeat offenders can face fines of up to £960.
Police Scotland said: ‘On Monday, December 21, 2020, we received a report of a group of people travelling to the Isle of Bute in alleged contravention of the coronavirus legislation.
‘Inquiries were carried out and three men aged 32, 62 and 69 years, and four women aged 21, 29, 60 and 90, have been charged and will be subject of a report to the procurator fiscal.’
The Bute family has been contacted for comment.