Masked gang in £1m raid on ‘cash for peerages’ millionaire’s home
BURGLARS broke into the home of a businessman and his wife and made off with valuables worth £1million.
Four men raided the Cotswolds estate of Sir Christopher Evans, the biotechnology entrepreneur and former Labour donor who was named in the cash for peerages scandal, and stole antique silver, ceramics and jewellery belonging to Lady Anne, his wife. Lady Anne and her son, Calum, 20, were at home in the 30-room property in Bibury, near Cirencester, when thieves struck in the early hours of Monday.
The balaclava-clad thieves, who wore blue surgical gloves, entered the property between 5pm and 8pm before driving away in a dark-coloured Audi S5 car towards Cirencester.
“They have wiped out my entire jewellery collection,” said Lady Anne. “There were hundreds of items and a lot of them were unbelievably special. My son and I were in the house … We were so lucky we didn’t come across them. I feel so devastated and violated.”
The mother-of-four said the property’s CCTV system picked up the raiders scaling the wall of the house before gaining access through a conservatory.
Lady Anne and her husband, who was listed in 364th place in the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated fortune of £158million, have appealed for help to catch the gang.
Sir Christopher was named as one of the individuals who donated £1 million to the Labour Party in 2006 and became involved in the cash for peerages scandal concerning the alleged connection between political donations and the award of life peerages.
No charges were ever brought against him. Rhianna, 24, his daughter, appealed for residents to report any sightings of the thieves.
“My mum is absolutely inconsolable,” she said.
“If they are doing something as large scale as this, I dread to think what they would have done had they encountered someone.”
A spokesman for Gloucestershire police said they were investigating the high-value crime.