The Marquess of Bute has been charged with allegedly breaking coronavirus legislation after apparently travelling from London to his ancestral home on a Scottish island after a strict ban on crossing the border came into force.
John Crichton-Stuart has been charged along with a group of six others, including a 90-year-old woman, after travelling to the Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland on Sunday, after London was put into tier 4 and a travel ban enforced between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
The 21-year-old daughter of the multi-millionaire former F1 driver reportedly posted a short film on her Instagram account entitled “tier 4 journey”, which showed her wearing a life jacket and giving a thumbs up for the camera onboard a speedboat.
The marquess has a home in London as well as several properties on the island, including his ancestral home of Mount Stuart, near the main town of Rothesay.
Also known as John Colum Bute, the 62-year-old raced under the name Johnny Dumfries, and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988.
A ban on travel to and from tier 4 areas in the south of England, including London, came into force after midnight on Sunday, a day after Nicola Sturgeon announced a ban on cross-border travel in an attempt to halt the spread of a new highly transmissible strain of coronavirus.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Monday December 21 2020, we received a report of a group of people travelling to the Isle of Bute in contravention of alleged breaches under the coronavirus legislation.
“Inquiries were carried out and three men aged 32, 62 and 69 years, and four women aged 21, 29, 60 and 90, have been charged and will be subject of a report to the procurator fiscal.”
Police Scotland may issue a £60 fixed-penalty notice for an initial breach, which can be reduced to £30 on prompt payment.
The Bute family has been contacted for comment.
