‘Trusted friend’ admits fleecing £117,000 from late Lord Brittan’s Alzheimer’s-hit brother, 85, which she blew on family holiday, designer clothes and cremating her pet Pomeranian dog
- Michelle Braithwaite, 46, took £117,000 from ‘trusted friend’ Sir Samuel Brittan
- She fleeced his bank accounts without consent and used his credit cards
- Braithwaite’s trial was due to begin today but she changed her plea to guilty
- Case was delayed due to her health problems but no diagnosis has been made
Michelle Braithwaite, pictured at a previous court hearing in London, 46, stole £117,000 from Sir Samuel Brittan’s bank accounts and credit cards while posing as a ‘friend and carer’, spending the money on holidays and the cremation of her pet dog
A ‘trusted friend’ of Sir Samuel Brittan today admitted defrauding the famous economist and author out of £117,000 to pay for a holiday to Malta, designer clothes and the cremation of her Pomeranian dog.
Michelle Braithwaite, 46, transferred cash from the writer’s bank accounts and used his American Express card while posing as his ‘carer, friend and confidante’.
Journalist Sir Samuel, who was knighted in 1993, is the brother of former Conservative Home Secretary Leon Brittan, who died aged 75 in 2015.
Braithwaite took the cash through more than 1,300 transactions as his health declined following a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in December 2016.
Her trial at Southwark Crown Court was due to begin today but she changed her plea to guilty.
She appeared via video link from home, citing her own health problems including severe stomach pain.
Max Hardy, prosecuting, said: ‘She [Braithwaite] manipulated her way into his life and over the course of seven months perpetrated to defraud him of over £100,000.’
Braithwaite also won the trust of his sister-in-law, Lady Diana Brittan – the widow of Lord Brittan – after claiming she was ‘a family lawyer’ and Cambridge graduate, the court heard.
She was Sir Samuel’s only living relative with full power of attorney and returned early from a holiday after Braithwaite said he had suffered a fall and was in hospital.
Braithwaite then claimed Sir Samuel’s cleaners had been involved in financial impropriety.
Mr Hardy said: ‘Lady Brittan’s trust was won over by Michelle Braithwaite who appeared to be helping the family in very practical ways, coming to his aid in a period of ill health and alerting Lady Britain of financial wrongdoing.’
Braithwaite became a full time career until another was hired and offered to look after Sir Samuel on the carer’s day off and take him out to lunch.
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But it became clear there was a dramatic increase in Sir Samuel’s expenditure since Braithwaite arrived in the author’s life in August 2016.
She paid for a holiday to Malta with her family, purchased designer clothing, beauty treatment and fast food and spent money on dog grooming and vet fees, including the cremation of her Pomeranian.
Mr Hardy added: ‘This expenditure that went far beyond the management of his living expenses and was going to the funding of the defendant’s lifestyle and her family’s.’
Braithwaite also spent Sir Samuel’s money on a party for her daughter and used his credit card to buy the contraceptive pill for the teenager, the court heard.
She also blew cash on trips to Gran Canaria and a hotel stay in Kensington.
Police eventually became involved after American Express detected the irregular use of the peer’s card.
Following her arrest Braithwaite claimed she was only ‘doing this all for Sir Samuel, motivated only from generosity’.
She admitted two counts of fraud by false representation, one of fraud by abuse of position and one of theft.
Sir Samuel, pictured, is the brother of former home secretary Lord Leon Brittan. Braithwaite came into his life in August 2016 and took advantage of him after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s months later in December
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: ‘I’m going to require psychiatric reports and a medical report that has been demanded by this court for many many months now. I think we need an independent psychiatrist and a doctor.
‘Her memory was not what it used to be apparently but that doesn’t hold any importance or relevance to this case.’
Earlier Adrian Ames, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant has physical difficulties attending court but as far as the prosecution can see she has no mental issues.
‘I understand also that the court is aware of the difficulties that the defence say the defendant has.’
Braithwaite claims she has various neurological issues which would prohibit her from standing trial but that no clear diagnosis has been made.
Her barrister Hector MacLean-Watt told an earlier hearing various psychiatric and neurological reports had been prepared for Braithwaite but that none of them appear conclusive.
He said: ‘All we get, and all we keep getting, is that she potentially has complex neurological issues and it seems very difficult to move this forward. This is the one that provides the most frustration.’
Referring to Braithwaite’s supposed neurological deterioration, the judge said: ‘The only evidence we have for this is she says she cannot remember.’
Mr MacLean-Watt replied: ‘It is fair to say, whether correct or not, there would appear to be deterioration.
‘Since around April, I think she has been confined to her home – ironically a certain form of imprisonment in any event.’
The case has been beset by difficulties due to Braithwaite’s health issues.
She appeared at Inner London Crown Court in June but she ended up stranded in the car park after security staff said they were unable to transport her from the cells to the dock by wheelchair.
In October a judge issued a warrant for her arrest after she failed to attend court but police failed to arrest Braithwaite on one occasion because no ambulance had been provided.
But two weeks later another judge decided a video link to the court could be installed at Braithwaite’s home
The offences date from 1 August 2016 until April 30 last year.
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