A thief who swiped a suitcase containing £250,000 worth of jewellery and designer bags from Jenson Button’s wife Brittny outside St Pancras station has been jailed.
Mourad Aid, 41, targeted the couple as they returned from a romantic getaway to Paris, when former F1 driver Jenson was helping a chauffer load his wife luggage into a car.
He was caught on camera snatching the bag – containing two Kelly bags totalling around £70,000 as well as sentimental and antique jewellery – before disappearing quickly into the crowd.
At Inner London crown court on Friday, Aid was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, said British Transport Police, after he admitted the theft in February, as well as a second similar bag snatch on James Humphrey Evans on November 24, 2024.
Aid, of Greatorex Street in Tower Hamlets, has been living in the country illegally and is now due to be deported after serving some of his sentence.
British Transport Police arrested him four days after the theft of Ms Button’s suitcase, when he was spotted in the Hatton Gardens jewellery district on 17 February.
“Aid acted brazenly and opportunistically to steal a suitcase from complete strangers, causing them considerable anxiety and worry over their belongings, so I am very happy with the result in this case”, said investigating officer DC Michael Taylor.
“I want to thank all of the officers involved for their hard work which saw us identify, arrest, and charge Aid at a rapid pace. We take every report of crime extremely seriously, and I would like to remind the public that they can report crimes or concerns on the railway by texting 61016.”
Ms Button, 34, spoke out about the crime earlier this year, saying she now has “no interest” in returning to the UK because of how “unsafe” it feels.
The model and interior designer said: "I was kind of shocked. How like unsecure everything felt [in London] just so many people, [and] so chaotic."
The couple, who have two children, live in Calabasas, California. They bought their Spanish-style mansion in 2021 and tied the knot in March 2022.
While Jenson’s suitcase was loaded into the front seat of the chauffeur’s car, he briefly turned his back on Brittny’s carry-on, giving aid the chance to swipe it before running off with items Brittny had hoped to one day pass to her daughter, including jewellery from her wedding and daughter’s birth.
“I don't really have many things from my parents, I don't really have many family heirlooms and I wish I did. So it's really heartbreaking”, she said.
The mother praised British Transport Police for their quick action, but admitted the incident had marred her view of the UK and her feelings about safety in the capital.
“I'm normally pretty cautious when I'm out in public and travelling, but I just didn't think that there were gangs literally just waiting for people and watching,” she said.
“My husband and I we really have no interest going back to the UK and it's a shame, because, you know, we will have to go back for family and work.
“It just feels so unsafe and doesn't feel how it once was, and its just unfortunate because that's where my children's grandmother and aunts live.”
Brittny said she had heard “countless stories” from people who have gone through similar ordeals, noting how the capital “doesn’t feel the same” as it did when she first started dating the Formula One driver 10 years ago.
Recorder Kate Blackwell KC noted that Aid had told a string of lies when arrested by police, and continued to lie after pleading guilty when he was questioned by probation.