Tory peer Michelle Mone has stated she is going to ‘vigorously defend’ herself as she is sued for ‘limitless damages’ for allegedly sending a racist textual content.
The millionaire bra tycoon, 50, stated the declare by monetary marketing consultant Richard Lynton-Jones – who’s of Indian heritage – ‘lacks advantage’.
She stated by means of her attorneys it had been served to the Excessive Court docket with out giving her discover ‘in contravention of the Civil Process Guidelines’.
Mr Lynton-Jones claims in a ten-page writ she prompted him ‘huge misery, embarrassment and harm to emotions’.
His attorneys are additionally calling for her to pay out at the very least £200,000 in aggravated damages following the row.
The poisonous fallout stems from when a younger yacht crew member died throughout a tragic incident in Cannes in 2019.
Baroness Mone is claimed to have despatched the Whatsapp messages to Mr Lynton-Jones and others after this.
She can be alleged to have known as his then accomplice ‘a psychological loony’, ‘mad’ and ‘a nut case chicken’ in different messages.
Tory peer Michelle Mone (pictured in an Instagram put up yesterday) has stated she is going to ‘vigorously defend’ herself as she is sued for ‘limitless damages’ for allegedly sending a racist textual content
The millionaire bra tycoon, 50, has had a 10-page writ filed towards her by Richard Lynton-Jones within the Excessive Court docket in London
His attorneys declare she has prompted him ‘huge misery, embarrassment and harm to emotions’. Pictured: Mr Lynton-Jones in a social media put up
How ‘Baroness Bra’ made her cash
Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone was born in 1971 and grew up in Glasgow’s East Finish, leaving college with no {qualifications} aged 15 earlier than discovering work as a mannequin.
After working a gross sales and advertising staff for the Labatt’s brewing agency, Baroness Mone determined to create a spread of assist bras after the concept got here to her whereas sporting an uncomfortable bra throughout a cocktail party.
Baroness Mone based MJM Worldwide together with her then-husband Michael Mone in November 1996, and three years of analysis, design, and growth resulted within the patented Ultimo bra.
In August 1999, a month after having her third little one, she launched Ultimo on the Selfridges division retailer in London, which offered the pre-launch estimate of six weeks of inventory inside 24 hours.
The enterprise grew quickly and in 2010 she earned an OBE from the Queen for her contribution to enterprise.
However she offered 80 per cent of Ultimo in 2014, one yr after asserting she had left the corporate following a breakdown in her marriage.
Woman Mone was nicknamed ‘Baroness Bra’ after being elevated to the Home of Lords in 2015, the place her official title is Baroness Mone of Mayfair.
To have a good time her fiftieth birthday final month, she determined to host 5 events – one for every decade of her life – together with her new husband billionaire tech tycoon Doug Barrowman, 55.
The pair married final November in a glitzy however low-key wedding ceremony ceremony at their residence on the Isle of Man.
Woman Mone has additionally had a profitable public talking profession however known as time on this final month, saying she wished to ‘deal with her household and new ventures’.
However her lawyer instructed MailOnline: ‘This declare was served with out prior discover to Baroness Mone in contravention of the Civil Process Guidelines.
‘She has been suggested that it lacks advantage and can defend it vigorously.’
Baroness Mone additionally posted a brand new photograph on Instagram yesterday with the caption: ‘You need to love your self.
‘Not in an egotistical means, however for those who be taught to like who you are spending the remainder of your life with, then others will love you too.’
The businesswoman, typically known as ‘Baroness Bra’, slammed the claims towards her once they first emerged in December, calling them ‘entitled white privilege’.
She additionally beforehand stated by means of her attorneys Mr Lynton-Jones’s ‘look is 100 per cent white, with a cut-glass English accent’.
However Mr Lynton-Jones’ attorneys say her claims are defamatory, together with her Instagram put up wrongly suggesting he ‘falsely accused’ her of ‘making a racist remark’.
In addition they say her feedback falsely suggest he was ‘moderately suspected of involvement within the manslaughter of a younger boy’.
And so they argue she is unsuitable to insinuate he had ‘disgracefully refused’ to assist police with their inquiries.
Mr Lynton-Jones’ writ claims Baroness Mane ‘properly knew’ her textual content was racist.
It claims she knew the claimant had been a sufferer of racially aggravated assault in Majorca in 2007.
It provides: ‘The defendant was properly conscious of this, having touched the plates ensuing from the racist assault, which made her false denial significantly merciless.’
Mr Lynton-Jones claims he and the defendant knew one another ‘properly’ and she or he was conscious ‘her was not 100 per cent white’.
His writ says he had ‘mentioned his heritage with the defendant and her husband Mr Barrowman on varied events beforehand’.
It goes on: ‘Particularly, the claimant and the defendant had identified one another quite a few years, had frolicked collectively on holidays and in social occasions on quite a few events.’
The row began when Mr Lynton-Jones was amongst company on a superyacht who met up with Woman Mone and her businessman husband Douglas Barrowman in Cannes.
The 2 teams, totalling 18, loved lunch at a restaurant on Île Sainte-Marguerite, leaving their respective crews on board.
They later rafted their boats collectively so they might proceed the enjoyable time out on the water, hopping on and off one another’s boats, earlier than deciding to return to shore.
The French skipper of the second superyacht known as Imaginative and prescient which was chartered by British web gaming millionaire Richard Skelhorn, by accident ploughed into Mr Barrowman’s boat as he was turning spherical to go for residence.
An MAIB investigation discovered the skipper had hashish in his bloodstream.
Woman Mone revealed this picture on her Instagram as we speak. She captioned it: ‘I like to placed on make-up to really feel my best-self, even when I haven’t got an occasion… it makes me really feel able to tackle the day’
Richard Lynton-Jones (pictured) alleged Mone racially abused him and known as his accomplice a ‘nut case chicken’ and ‘psychological loony’ three weeks after a day of ‘consuming and partying’ on two superyachts which resulted in an accident and the loss of life of a deckhand
Crewman Jake Feldwhere (pictured), 27, was on the foredeck of an 88ft-long Minx getting ready to elevate the anchor when he was struck and killed off the coast of Île Sainte-Marguerite in 2019
Jake Feldwhere was on the foredeck of the Minx getting ready to elevate the anchor when he was struck and killed within the collision on the night of Might 25, 2019.
Mr Lynton-Jones and Baroness Mone allegedly fell out in a WhatsApp chat on June 13, 2019, after she questioned how a lot his accomplice had suffered psychologically.
The Monaco-based monetary marketing consultant, who’s believed to have a mom of Indian heritage and a white father, replied stated he had been critically traumatised by the yacht incident, saying: ‘I would like you again the f**ok off.’
Woman Mone allegedly replied: ‘OMG what a pile of c**p!! You’re speaking to me, a wise, vivid particular person who would not get taken in by your s**t!
‘In reality my b******t detector was on you from day 1. You & your psychological loony of a girlfriend have been parting [sic] like mad! … It’s worthwhile to get a grip and have respect for a man that was killed!!!
‘Humorous how your mad girlfriend has now deleted all the photographs, don’t be concerned I’ve screenshots of the dates and instances.
’48 hours after the man was killed. Your [sic] a low life, a waste of a mans [sic] white pores and skin so do not give us your lies. Your [sic] a complete shame.’
Mr Lynton-Jones complained to the Met, the Home of Lords Commissioner for Requirements and the Committee on Requirements in Public Life.
The story broke in a nationwide newspaper final yr and Baroness Mone’s authorized staff hit again.
The claimant’s attorneys declare their feedback have been libellous as a result of they urged he was mendacity about her alleged racism.
Minx (crash injury, left) is owned by Michelle Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman
They’re additionally arguing an Instagram put up – which was seen by ‘many thousands and thousands’ – had ‘prompted critical hurt to the claimant’s private {and professional} repute’.
They are saying the ‘very critical nature of the imputations conveyed, involving critical dishonesty and involvement in manslaughter’ will probably be relied on in court docket.
The writ provides: ‘The defendant’s publication of the article has prompted the claimant huge misery, embarrassment and harm to emotions’.
Mr Lynton-Jones needs an injunction to cease Baroness Mone repeating feedback.
She is because of communicate with police beneath warning over the alleged racism, however has not been arrested.
However she won’t face a probe from parliamentary officers as a result of they stated it was outdoors their jurisdiction.
Baroness Mone’s individuals stated in a press release final month: ‘Baroness Mone is 100 per cent not a racist.
‘Baroness Mone and her husband have constructed over 15 colleges in Africa previously three years.’
Her attorneys later stated she has ‘no entry’ to the messages and no ‘detailed reminiscence of them’.
They added: ‘She shouldn’t be ready to touch upon the messages until and till their authenticity has been confirmed.
‘However Baroness Mone, in any occasion, very strongly denies that she is a racist, a sexist or that she has a scarcity of respect for these individuals genuinely struggling with psychological well being difficulties.’
Attorneys for the Home of Lords member, pictured together with her husband Douglas Barrowman, stated she has no ‘detailed reminiscence’ or ‘entry’ to the messages and denied that she is a racist
She stated on her Instagram account: ‘Since when did calling out a person on his actions after a manslaughter and his entitled white privilege represent racism?
‘Fairly the opposite- the accusations I’ve learn as we speak towards me are stuffed with contradictions.’
She added: ‘I’ll set the file straight on this defamation earlier than deciding on any authorized motion.’
Mr Lynton-Jones, from Ferndown in Dorset, started his profession with the Queen’s financial institution Coutts, working in Jersey on offshore providers for purchasers.
He was a vp at Barclays Wealth in each Jersey and Monaco earlier than becoming a member of the Monaco workplace of funding financial institution UBS.
He specialises in working with extremely high-net value people with investable belongings of at the very least 50 million euros.
In 2018, he joined Woman Mone and Mr Barrowman’s new digital foreign money enterprise which noticed them launch a coin known as Equi which they claimed can be the British Bitcoin.
Mr Lynton-Jones was appointed head of capital elevating and investor relations.
Baroness Mone determined to create a spread of assist bras after the concept got here to her whereas sporting an uncomfortable bra throughout a cocktail party.
Baroness Mone based MJM Worldwide together with her then-husband Michael Mone in November 1996, and three years of analysis, design, and growth resulted within the patented Ultimo bra.
In August 1999, a month after having her third little one, she launched Ultimo on the Selfridges division retailer in London, which offered the pre-launch estimate of six weeks of inventory inside 24 hours.
The enterprise grew quickly and in 2010 she earned an OBE from the Queen for her contribution to enterprise.
However she offered 80 per cent of Ultimo in 2014, one yr after asserting she had left the corporate following a breakdown in her marriage.
Woman Mone was nicknamed ‘Baroness Bra’ after being elevated to the Home of Lords in 2015, the place her official title is Baroness Mone of Mayfair.