Tamara Ecclestone's husband Jay hits out over £50m jewellery raid

Tamara Ecclestone's husband Jay hits out over £50m jewellery raid - Daily Mail

Posted: 17 Dec 2019 05:46 AM PST

Tamara Ecclestone's husband Jay Rutland today accused ITV's Lorraine Kelly of 'laughing' about burglars grabbing his wife's £50million jewellery collection as police probed the exclusive security firm guarding their 57-room mansion.

The couple have tried to make the best of a Christmas trip to Lapland with their daughter Sophia, five, but are said to be 'devastated'.

Mr Rutland posted a clip of ITV's Lorraine discussing the raid where the star presenter said she 'couldn't understand' why they would have so many valuables in their Kensington home.

Lorraine added: 'Just get it all from Claire's Accessories and nobody will want to steal it' and suggested their social media posts from Lapland signposted their empty mansion.

Jay hit back on Instagram from the Arctic Circle today, where Sophia was taken to meet Santa, and said: 'Cheers Lorraine. I hope you never have the misfortune to be robbed'.

Tamara and Jay, who flew from Lapland to Switzerland today, are believed to use security firm Gavin de Becker and Associates to protect their gated Kensington mansion 24/7 with two staff and a CCTV room.

The firm, which is based in California but has a London office, says it 'protects over 90 of the world's most prominent families' including a string of rich families in Britain.

Tamara Ecclestone and her daughter Sophia pose with Father Christmas in Finnish Lapland as the storm over the burglary at home raged on today

Tamara Ecclestone has posed for a photo shoot in Lapland supported by her team of stylists as police investigated the burglary at her mansion

Jay Rutland today slammed ITV's Lorraine as the Ecclestone family react to the £50m burglary on their home, which saw Tamara (right) losing her entire collection

The heist at Ecclestone's house (pictured today) took place on one of London 's most exclusive streets, nicknamed Billionaire's Row, in Kensington, which has 24-hour security and checkpoints because of the rich residents and embassies on the road

Tamara Ecclestone's extraordinary jewellery collection - and what could be missing

Tamara Ecclestone is well known for her lavish and rare jewellery collection, which is believed to have decimated by burglars on Friday.

Details of the entirety of her £50m collection is not known - or what has been taken - but these are the high-value items the heiress is known to own.

An £80,000 Cartier bangle and a large watch collection including diamond-studded Rolex, Hublot and Cartier pieces worth up to £100,000 each are said to have been taken.

Jewellery from the estate of the late actress Elizabeth Taylor was sold for £116 million at auction after her death. One diamond, pearl and ruby necklace fetched £9 million.

And Tamara, who regularly shares details of her lavish lifestyle on Instagram, has two engagement rings, worth £250,000 each, although it is not known if these were taken.

Rings

2x diamond engagement rings - £250k each

Watches

Yellow gold Rolex Daytona - £50k

Hublot sports watch - £100k

Cartier Ballon diamond watch - up to £50,000

Earrings

Multiple pairs of diamond stud, drop and hoop earrings - £50,000 per pair

Bangles and bracelets

Cartier bangle wedding gift from her husband Jay - £80,000

Cartier love bracelets - worth £63,000

But the heiress' billionaire father Bernie told MailOnline yesterday that he fears it was an 'inside job' because the gang of three burglars were in the house for 50 minutes and smashed open safes hidden in some of the six bedrooms before fleeing through an open window.

A Fort Knox-style security operation — with patrolling guards and CCTV which is monitored 24 hours — somehow failed to prevent the raid or to detect the intruders.

Scotland Yard will be investigating whether someone from within the Ecclestone's Army of staff helped the raiders.

One security guard was on duty, and a second man had reportedly left the house to fill up one of the family's cars with petrol when the burglary happened, it is alleged.

A source told The Sun: 'CCTV shows three robbers climbing over the back fence and into the garden. There are meant to be sensors to pick up anyone entering.

'But the security guard appears to have missed it, even though he was apparently in the security room where the CCTV should be monitored.

'The other security guard had left the property to fill the family car up with petrol after 10pm. It's surprising because the car didn't need to be used at that time.'

Detectives will also probe whether Tamara's Instagram picture of five-year-old Sophia boarding a private jet for Lapland tipped off burglars.

The raid took place hours after the social media post shared with 439,000 followers showed the family heading to the Arctic Circle.

Three burglars were able to spend 50 minutes emptying safes in her 57-room £70million west London home and fled through an open window at 11.30pm.

Bernie Ecclestone told MailOnline said: 'Given all the security at the house, I'm assuming it was an inside job. It's an awful thing to happen just after she had left the house to go to Lapland'.

Met detectives have said they have an 'open mind around other lines of inquiry' but there have been a number of high profile cases where burglars have trawled social media to find empty mansions.

John Terry's Surrey £5million Surrey home was burgled of £400,000 of goods after he posted family photos to 3million Instagram followers during their ski holiday to the French Alps in 2017.

Home insurers have started rejecting claims made by customers burgled if they have shared the fact that they are away on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram because it could break the 'reasonable care' clause of a policy.

Tamara and Sophia were all smiles in Instagram videos made by Jay of them meeting Santa and his reindeer

Police are said to have an 'open mind' about whether this Instagram photo of Tamara Ecclestone's daughter Sophia and their dog Teddy boarding a private in the hours before the £50m burglary may have tipped off the raiders to an empty mansion

Thieves have stolen £50million worth of jewellery from Tamara Ecclestone, pictured with husband Jay, wearing an £80,000 Cartier bangle wedding gift and diamond earrings that were stolen from safes hidden in their bedroom

Tamara smiled with her daughter Sophia smile in Lapland in a post on Saturday (pictured) - the day after the burglary - after their London mansion was raided by three burglars who grabbed £50million of jewels and jewellery

The gang got away despite a guard reportedly sitting in Tamara's CCTV room at the property in Kensington, which boasts 24-hour security patrols, multiple checkpoints and armed police at either end to protect the six embassies there.

Police will be probing if the thieves were helped by someone on the inside who knew the family were away and where their safes were hidden.

Last night it was suggested that one guard had decided to leave the property shortly before the raid and another was reported to have turned off or ignored sensors in the garden.

A source told The Sun: 'CCTV shows three robbers climbing over the back fence and into the garden. There are meant to be sensors to pick up anyone entering.

'But the security guard appears to have missed it, even though he was apparently in the security room where the CCTV should be monitored.

'The other security guard had left the property to fill the family car up with petrol after 10pm. It's surprising because the car didn't need to be used at that time.

Precious earrings with 'personal meaning' and a £80,000 Cartier bangle wedding gift from her husband are believed to have vanished.

Tamara has two engagement rings, worth £250,000 each, but it is not known if these were taken. She has several sets of diamond stud earrings valued at around £50,000 per pair and a large watch collection including Rolex, Hublot and Cartier pieces worth up to £100,000 each.

The thieves were able to spend an hour in the house stealing Tamara's most prized and expensive possessions. It is not known if any of her two engagement rings (right) were stolen

Tamara has refused to let the devastating raid ruin her daughter Sophia's dream trip to Lapland and the 35-year-old heiress was all smiles as she frolicked in the snow with her only child before getting in a sleigh pulled by reindeer on their Christmas break in the Arctic Circle this weekend.

In a cryptic Instagram post sent from Lapland today today Tamara appeared to suggest there was an inside man, quoting Luke 8:17 from the Bible, which says: 'For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open'.

A neighbour of Ecclestone's said that his security team had been checking CCTV between 11pm and 11.30pm on Friday but said: 'We've found nothing out of the ordinary.'

Detective Sergeant Matthew Pountney, of the Met's Central West Command Unit, said: 'a number of officers, including the dog unit, deployed to the residential property...

'However, the suspects had already left the scene when the call to police was made.

'At this time we are investigating this as an isolated burglary and we are retaining an open mind around other lines of enquiry.

'Police were called by security within the building to three males being present inside the property and a fast-paced investigation is underway to locate the suspects and missing items.'

He added: 'Burglary is a distressing crime and we are keeping the victim up to date with the investigation.'

DS Pountney said CCTV has been seized from the property and is in the process of being reviewed, but there have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

Tamara and Sophia smiled as they went through a snowy forest on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, cooked sausages on an open fire and baked gingerbread together as a family.

Tamara has an extraordinary array of jewellery including watches, rings, earrings and rare pieces said to be worth millions of pounds

Her father Bernie, 88, pictured last month at the Brazil Grand Prix, fears his daughter was betrayed by an inside man or woman who knew she was heading abroad

Mother and daughter have fun on a sleigh pulled by reindeer in Lapland over the weekend

Sophia Ecclestone's parents ensured she had a wonderful time in Lapland despite the burglary at home

Sophia poses on a mountain of snow on the family break that started hours before the high value burglary

Sophia was lucky enough to meet a reindeer as the family enjoyed their day in the snow

Tamara smiled in Lapland in a post on Saturday (pictured right) - the day after the burglary

During the trip the kids were taken to visit Santa. Right: Tamara smiles during the meet and greet

The family were sure to share all the details of their trip on social media, including a visit to Santa

Tamara is out of the country but shared this Biblical passage hinting someone may have betrayed her

Tamara's jewellery will be 'broken up or melted down' to ensure they are never found

Tamara Ecclestone's stolen jewelley is likely to be broken up or melted down, according to jewellery experts.

The bling belonging to the F1 heiress, 35, was stolen from her £70 million London home just hours after she left the country for her Christmas holidays.

Jewellery thieves usually break up and sell off the items they steal, an expert said, although some buyers are willing to turn a 'blind eye' and buy whole pieces.

Christopher Marinello of Art Recovery International, said complete pieces - such as watches - very occasionally get sold on to buyers who don't care where their purchases have come from

Mr Marinello said: 'There is a market where people buy things - like watches - fully-formed, and don't ask questions about where they come from.

'But they run the risk of getting caught and having to hand the items over.'

Ms Ecclestone lives in the gated property with husband Jay Rutland and their five-year-old daughter and is close to Kensington Palace, where Prince William and his family lives, and backs on to exclusive streets linking Kensington and Notting Hill.

Their neighbours include Foxtons' founder Jon Hunt, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, the Sultan of Brunei, China's richest man, Wang Jianlin and a string of embassies including Russia's all guarded by the Met's elite diplomatic group officers.

Three raiders reportedly broke into Tamara's house through the garden before heading straight to the safes.

Witnesses said they saw three police cars outside the luxury home by Kensington Palace at 11.30pm on Friday when the burglary was discovered.

It is understood that guards were also present inside the 57-room property at the time of the burglary and the thieves left via an 'open window', according to The Sun.

A source told The Sun: 'An estimated £50million worth of jewellery has been stolen from inside Tamara's safe and Jay's safe. Whoever did this was in the house for 50 minutes in total and had time to smash open the safes that are hidden in Tamara's dressing room and Jay's dressing room. Neither would be easy to find.

'The three raiders climbed over the back fence and went into the garden, before somehow gaining access to the house.

'They were disturbed by a security guard after being inside for 50 minutes and are said to have bundled out an open window.

Jay Rutland shared this cryptic image on his Instagram account today in the wake of the incident

Campfire fun! Time to toast some marshmallows on the fire during the family getaway

Making the most of it! Sophia is seen walking around with her pink jacket on in the snow

Winter wonderland! Jay Rutland posted this cute picture on Instagram which showed them meeting some of Santa's helpers

Adorable snaps from their getaway show Tamara with her daughter (right) as well as the activities they got up to including carving their names into ice

Tamara, who has a daughter, Sophia, five, and husband Jay, 38, (pictured together with their Christmas tree at their raided home on November 10) is said to in be 'complete devastation and shock'

Tamara, pictured at the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball in 2014, has had several pieces stolen that cannot be replaces

They said the heist took 50 minutes during which they smashed open the safes in the house which are well hidden.

The burglars then bundled out of an open window and fled the scene.

A spokesman for Tamara, the daughter of former Formula One boss Bernie, confirmed the burglary took place.

The theft took place on one of London's most exclusive streets which has been dubbed 'Billionaires' Row'.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson man said: 'Police were called to a residential property in W8, at 23.11hrs on Friday, 13 December, to reports of a burglary.

'Officers attended. It was reported that an amount of high-value jewellery had been stolen. There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue.'

It is not the first time the Ecclestones have been stung by thieves, after Tamara's ex-brother-in-law James Stunt claimed he was the victim of a £90million heist in his Belgravia home in 2017.

But police closed the investigation months later and no arrests have been made.

And in 2010, Tamara's dad Bernie was mugged of his £200,000 jewellery in front of his girlfriend.