Aristocrat ran down rambler in his Land Rover... but only gets six points on licence
A PROMINENT aristocrat who recently sold a painting for £30 million has escaped with just six penalty points and a £400 fine after driving his Land Rover into a rambler on his estate.
Neil Archibald Primrose, the seventh Earl of Rosebery and third Earl of Midlothian, knocked down retired teacher Carol Murphy as she strolled around the grounds of Dalmeny House with a women’s walking group.
The 89-year-old earl, whose grandfather Archibald served as Prime Minister from 1894-5, received the penalty after pleading guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week to driving without due care and attention.
Sentencing the elderly peer to the fine and six penalty points, Sheriff Peter McCormack told the court: ‘I will not exercise my discretion to disqualify him for a very brief error of judgment.’
But Mrs Murphy, who was left with a broken elbow and is still receiving treatment for nerve dambe age a year later, said the punishment was ‘ridiculous’, claiming: ‘Justice has not been done.’
The earl was originally charged with dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident following the incident in South Queensferry, West Lothian, in April last year. This could have resulted in a driving ban, an unlimited fine and up to two years in jail.
But the charge was reduced to driving without due care and attention, carrying a maximum £5,000 fine, while an allegation that he ‘did knowingly fail to stop his vehicle’ was removed.
In a sign of his significant means, the earl sold JMW Turner’s masterpiece Rome, From Mount Aventine to an anonymous bidder in 2014, claiming he needed the funds to carry out repairs to Dalmeny Estate. Sotheby’s had described the 1835 oil painting as ‘one of the greatest masterpieces of British art left in private hands’.
Mrs Murphy, 62, said: ‘A £400 fine is ridiculously low for someone who recently sold a painting for £30 million. It is hardly much of a punishment for him. I feel let down by the courts. More than a year on, I still suffer from nerve pain right down my arm – it is far from trivial for me.’
Mrs Murphy, from West Calder, West Lothian, who is understood to seeking compensation from the earl, recalled the incident. She said: ‘One of the group shouted that a car was coming.
We all heard the roar of the engine. He did not beep, not once. ‘We all stepped quickly on to the grass verge to make sure we were off the road.
‘The lady next to me shouted my name just before I was struck on the shoulder and arm.
‘He seemed to swerve towards me as I was fully off the road. It was such a shock, and the force of it spun me around before I fell to the ground. The driver then accelerated and drove off and one of my group called an ambulance for me.’
Depute fiscal Nicole Lavelle told the court: ‘The accused provided a negative breath test and passed a compulsory eyesight test.
‘He was cautioned and charged and said, “I gave them a toot of the horn but they didn’t move, so I gave them another toot, so the group moved where I thought they were out of the way to be sufficiently safe”.’
The earl’s solicitor, Jim Stephenson, said: ‘He thought they had moved. He was unaware Miss Murphy had come into contact with the vehicle. It’s rather unfortunate.’
Last night, the Earl said: ‘I certainly would say it was an accident. I am sure I was not doing above 20mph.
‘I am happy the public use the estate but I do feel that the road is quite narrow and when horns are blown people should move. She was standing on the grass but she might have had her arm out.’
When asked if he could have afforded a higher fine, he said: ‘It costs a lot of money to keep an estate going. Money goes in and money comes out.’
‘Justice has not been done, I feel let down’