Peer loses his appeal to have money fight settled north of the Border

● Aristocrat Charles Villiers argued case against wife should be heard in Scotland

Justice Moylan had analysed argument at a Court of Appeal hearing in London in March.

Barrister Michael Hor t on, who led Mr Villiers’ legal team, had told appeal judges the couple had spent almost all their married life in Scotland after tying the knot in 1994.

He said Mr Villiers stayed in the family home Milton House in Dumbarton after the couple separated in 2012.

Mr s Vi l l i e r s “c a me s o u t h to England”, first living near Oxford then i n London. She made a cash claim in the High Court in London.

Mr Hor ton had said i f Mrs Justice Parker’s decision was a l l o we d t o s t a n d , L o n d o n c o ul d b e c ome t he “mainte - nance capital” of the UK.

Timothy Scott QC, who represented Mrs Villiers, said the appeal should be dismissed.

He told appeal judges: “These cases are always about looking for litigation advantage on both sides.”

Mr and Mrs Villiers are listed on the website www. thepeerage. com. The website provides a “genealogical survey” of the peerage in Britain.

Mr Horton told judges about financial difficulties following the breakdown of the couple’s marriage.

He said Barclays had started possession proceedings and Milton House had been repossessed in early 2015.

Mr Villiers had been made bankrupt in November 2013.