Countess loses ‘brainwashing’ case against daughter’s mentor

The Countess and Earl of Caledon, right, on their wedding day in 2008. Above, Caledon Castle in Co Tyrone, the family seat Below: Anne Craig said the countess’s daughter, from her previous marriage to the Hon Charles William Cayzer, had for some time refused to have anything to do with her mother and her entire family. The countess “suspects that Mrs Craig, who is not professionally qualified but offers support and personal development sessions, ‘has poisoned A’s mind against her family’”.

Mrs Craig began seeing the daughter in about 2010, when she was aged 20, and insists that any allegations made against family members in these sessions came from A herself.

The police became involved in August 2014 when the countess sent her daughter a letter referring to “the potential for emotional psychological abuse through therapy”. She was arrested on suspicion of harassment after her daughter complained to the police. On her release the countess told police of her concerns about Mrs Craig, who was herself arrested in October 2014 on suspicion of fraud.

When the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Mrs Craig, the countess demanded to see the documents from the police investigation.

During a hearing in June, Mark Jones, appearing for the countess, accused Mrs Craig of “brainwashing” the daughters of rich families into thinking they were abused as children. But A said sessions with Mrs Craig “enabled her to express deeply held and private matters about her childhood. These included bad treatment by both parents”.

The judge ruled: “There is no evidence that the applicant suffered psychiatric or psychological harm as the result of the actions of Mrs Craig.”

A statement released on behalf of the countess said: “Lady Caledon will continue to seek redress until she is united with her daughter.”