Ramsay’s father-in-law admits hacking

● 68-year-old charged after being involved in public falling out with chef

Gordon Ramsay’s father-inlaw has admitted hacking the computer system of the celebrity chef ’s company.

Chris Hutcheson, 68, was charged under Operation Tuleta with conspiring to cause a computer to access programmes and data without authority.

Three of his children, Adam Hutcheson, 46, Orlanda Butland, 45, and Chris Hutcheson Jnr, 37, also faced the same charge.

Hutcheson Snr, who is the father of Ramsay’s wife, Tana, was involved in a very public falling out with the chef, some of which was aired in legal bat- tles heard at the High Court. The defendants appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday before Judge Gerald Gordon and spoke to confirm their identities.

The three men pleaded guilty, while Ms Butland denied the charge and the prosecution offered no evidence in relation to her case.

Hutcheson Snr, who has a home in Druillat, France, gave the same address as his daughter, of Wycombe Place, Earlsfield, south-west London, while Hutcheson Jnr gave his address as Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and Adam Hutcheson is from Sevenoaks, in Kent.

The charges relate to an alleged plot to hack into the computer system at Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd (GRHL) between 23 October 2010 and 31 March 2011.

At a previous hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Dan Suter said: “The prosecution concerns the hacking of the computer system of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, and the e-mail accounts of Gordon Ramsay Ltd employees.

“At the time of the alleged conspiracy, Chris Hutcheson Snr had been dismissed by Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd. He has previously held a senior position with GRHL.

“The prosecution would say as a result of that dismissal he was motivated to access unlawfully the computer system.”

The prosecution alleged e-mails were exchanged between Chris Hutcheson Snr and Adam Hutcheson, discussing how they could “crack into” specific e-mail accounts of GRHL employees.

At the magistrates’ court hearing the prosecution said the accounts were hacked in order to gain access to material that could prove useful in the civil litigation proceedings.

The court was told a firm of solicitors had been instructed in relation to an alleged affair between Chris Hutcheson Snr and Sara Stewart.

She claimed there was a breach of privacy after a photograph of her was sent on, it was claimed.

Sentence was deferred. 0 Chris Hutcheson used to work for Ramsay’s firm