Divorce judge in court battle after affair with shot barrister’s widow
The best-known High Court judge in the divorce courts is set to have his own marriage examined in a trial as he battles his ex-wife over their assets including a £6 million house.
Mr Justice Mostyn has instructed lawyers as he prepares for his new life with barrister Elizabeth Saunders, 40, whose husband Mark was shot dead by police during a siege at their Chelsea home in 2008.
Ms Saunders’s affair with Sir Nicholas Mostyn, 54, came to light in 2010 and he was granted a decree nisi from Lucy Mostyn, 53, last August.
In a 30-year career at the Bar, he was one of the country’s most senior divorce lawyers, charging up to £500 an hour. His clients included Sir Paul McCartney, Earl Spencer and Karen Parlour, ex-wife of former England footballer Ray Parlour, for whom he won a £4 million settlement in a landmark case.
Sir Nicholas was made a judge in April 2010 and now his own divorce after a 31-year marriage is set to hit the headlines. In the divorce papers adultery is cited as the reason for the break-up.
At the heart of the dispute over the assets is the family’s 18th-century Grade II-listed home in a 117-acre estate in Hertfordshire. The nine-bedroom house, now on the market, has four reception rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court and extensive paddocks.
Because Sir Nicholas is such a familiar figure at the High Court, a judge has had to be found to hear the case from outside London. Judge Stephen Wildblood QC will preside when the hearings start at Exeter on April 30.
Sir Nicholas was born in Nigeria and brought up in both Central and South America before his parents divorced. His success as a divorce specialist barrister brought him the nickname “Mr Payout”.
After becoming a judge he warned in 2010 that the “rosy, romantic” notion of marriage had been replaced by cold economics. He said he believed marriage should be attended by bridesmaids rather than lawyers, and that pre-nuptial agreements tended to lead to the “suppression” of brides.
Sir Nicholas and Lady Mostyn have four children. Part-time magistrate Lady Mostyn was said to be a stay-at-home mother, running a livery business with the help of half a dozen stable hands.
The business was launched in 2004 when the couple bought the farm buildings behind the house and is 99 per cent owned by Lady Mostyn.
If the asking price for the property proves to be too steep for a single buyer, one option is to split it into four lots. Apart from the main house there is a three-bedroom cottage.
