Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Chelsea siege barrister Mark Saunders's widow in new relationship with High Court judge
Posted by org at 11:10 PM
The wife of Mark Saunders, the barrister shot dead in a police siege at his Chelsea home, has found new love with a High Court judge.
Mr Justice Mostyn, one of Britain’s most respected divorce lawyers until his appointment as a judge in April, is understood to have left his wife of almost 30 years to be with her.
Mrs Saunders, who uses her maiden name Clarke in her professional setting as a barrister, is said to have worked closely with Sir Nicholas Mostyn QC on cases in the past.
There is no suggestion that the relationship was going on before her husband’s death in a police siege at their £2.2 million in May 2008.
Mrs Saunders broke down in tears as she told her husband’s inquest in October that they had been “very much in love”.
The hearing was told how she had supported him in his private battle with drinking.
Mr Saunders, also an Oxford-educated divorce lawyer whose past clients included Chris Tarrant, the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, was shot dead as he drunkenly waved a shotgun at a window with 59 armed officers surrounding his home.
The inquest in London in October heard that he had a drink problem and was a regular cocaine user.
A jury found that the seven officers who opened fire did so lawfully in “necessary and reasonable” self defence but pointed to a series of failings in the operation.
Sir Nicholas’s wife, Lucy, has instructed Frances Hughes, a leading divorce lawyer, to represent her but is understood to be reluctant to separate.
A close friend said she was “aghast” at the prospect of a divorce and had not ruled out hope of a reconciliation.
A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office, which speaks on behalf of judges and magistrates, said: “He has got no comment to make.”
Lady Mostyn also declined to comment.
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