A former British Legion secretary accused of ‘forgery’ over a neighbour’s £5m will has withdrawn his declare on the money.
Relations of rich however ‘weak’ former air hostess Joan Sutcliffe had been alarmed on the ‘sudden presence’ of Mark Pidsley, 70, within the twilight of her life.
They have been much more alarmed when after her dying, a ‘new will’ emerged – with Mr Pidsley controlling huge sums of cash beforehand destined for her stepdaughter Bridget Spencer, 68.
Mr Pidsley, a public faculty outdated boy, son of a lieutenant colonel, and stalwart of the conservation society of his seaside city – the place his backyard bordered Mrs Sutcliffe’s – launched a authorized bid to have the brand new will validated.
However after Mrs Spencer found two witnesses to the brand new will stated they knew nothing about it, she fought in court docket.
Mark Pidsley, 70, a former British Legion secretary accused of ‘forgery’ over neighbour Joan Sutcliffe’s £5m will, has withdrawn his declare on the money
Former air hostess Mrs Sutcliffe met her late husband John whereas serving him in First Class, when he was nonetheless married to his first spouse
Now Mr Pidsley has informed London’s Excessive Court docket that he accepts the 2019 will ought to be declared invalid.
And he has agreed a earlier 2011 doc, leaving the majority of Mrs Sutcliffe’s £5m to her stepdaughter, ought to be upheld.
Mr Pidsley’s barrister Brie Stevens-Hoare KC, denied all allegations of dishonesty, saying his consumer had identified Mrs Sutcliffe as a neighbour for greater than 40 years. The court docket made no discovering of dishonesty in opposition to Mr Pidsley.
Retired British Abroad Airways Company hostess Mrs Sutcliffe, who died in September 2020 aged 90, owned three luxurious properties: a big home in Putney, west London, a flat in southern France and a Victorian harbour-side villa in Lymington, within the New Forest, Hants.
And below a 2011 will, her property was largely left to stepdaughter Bridget Spencer and Mrs Spencer’s three kids, Rebecca Spencer, Victoria Turan and Harry Spencer.
A lot of the fortune, in any case, got here from Mrs Sutcliffe’s late husband John Sutcliffe, who she met when serving him in First Class, when he was nonetheless married to his first spouse.
However the shock new will and letter of needs, dated 25 March 2019, successfully left the lion’s share to Mr Pidsley and his son David.
Aghast Mrs Spencer and different outdated mates of Mrs Sutcliffe had solely first heard of Mr Pidsley two years earlier than her dying – once they discovered he had pushed her from Lymington to her London residence, the place he then stayed as a visitor.
When he sought to uphold the ‘new’ doc, Mrs Spencer claimed the 2019 will was a ‘a forgery and a false doc’ which ‘perhaps’ was created by the previous British Legion department officer.
Mr Pidsley and his son denied any dishonesty, sustaining the 2019 paperwork mirrored Joan’s final needs.
However the case has now been settled, with Mark and David Pidsley agreeing to a consent order which declares the 2019 will invalid, and leaves the majority of Joan’s £5m to her stepdaughter as directed by the ‘true will’ from 2011.
Mrs Spencer’s barrister Fay Collinson had informed the court docket it was not till two years after Mrs Sutcliffe’s dying {that a} ‘letter of needs’ supposedly created by her belatedly emerged.
It stated the majority of her fortune ought to go right into a belief managed by Mr Pidsley and his son David, at their ‘sole discretion to your profit or given to your loved ones as you see match’.
Mr Pidsley had agreed a earlier 2011 doc, leaving the majority of Mrs Sutcliffe’s £5m to her stepdaughter, ought to be upheld
The 2019 paperwork left stepdaughter Mrs Spencer with a mere £10,000 and her kids simply £2,000 every and a few jewelry.
And because the Each day Mail revealed earlier this 12 months, two acquaintances of Mr Pidsley, Simon Parker and Marie Pollack, whose names are down as witnesses to the 2019 will, got here ahead to say they didn’t knowingly signal it.
They added, in court docket statements that they have been later requested by Mr Pidsley to place their signatures to a flowery letter he had written setting out ‘a fictitious set of occasions’ involving them witnessing the disputed will in Mrs Sutcliffe’s presence over a ‘slap-up tea’ at their Grade-II Listed Hampshire house.
Ms Collinson informed the court docket: ‘Most likely, figuring out Mrs Spencer was conducting enquiries, Mark Pidsley ready the letter in a deliberate try to provide a false and fraudulent impression that the 2019 will was executed by Joan within the presence of Mr Parker and Ms Pollack.’
Mark Pidsley’s barrister Brie Stevens-Hoare KC, denied all allegations of dishonesty, saying his consumer had identified Mrs Sutcliffe as a neighbour for greater than 40 years.
The brand new order settling the case strips Mark Pidsley of his appointment as a private consultant of Mrs Sutcliffe’s property.
Neither occasion would remark final evening.
