EXCLUSIVE Moment Jenson Button's wife is targeted by yob who swiped suitcase containing £250,000 of lavish jewellery and handbags minutes after arriving in London - as she vows NEVER to come back

Daily Mail​

02-05-2025

Jenson Button's wife says the couple has 'no interest' in jetting back to the UK after they were targeted by thugs who stole her suitcase holding £250,000 worth of lavish jewellery and designer handbags.
The former Formula One driver and his wife, Brittny Button, were in romantic bliss after a brief getaway to Paris.
But everything took a turn for the worse when they arrived back in St Pancras, London on February 13, 2025.
The 34-year-old explained how Jenson, 45, was helping the chauffer load the car when a man swooped in and sped away with her Goyard carry-on suitcase in mere seconds.
The former Playboy model revealed the suitcase was filled with more than £250,000 worth of items, which included two Kelly bags totalling to around £70,000, as well as countless sentimental and antique jewellery from her wedding and the birth of her daughter.
Brittny divulged that she usually would have packed less luxurious items for a trip, and a carry-on that was less notable, but given the husband and wife were jetting away for Valentine's Day she and her stylist packed a bit more than usual.
However the ordeal, which saw her bag stolen in a matter of seconds as their backs were turned, has cast a cloud over a city and country which holds significant memories in their relationship.
Recalling the moment her bag was nicked, Brittny explained how the Formula One driver had told her to head into the car.
The 41-year-old has since pleaded guilty to theft at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 February 2025, five days after the incident and has been remanded in custody for sentencing
Brittny told MailOnline: 'I was kind of shocked. How like unsecure everything felt [in London] just so many people, [and] so chaotic.
'I thought, "Should I have brought my carry on back here with me?" Because Jensen can be a little bit like not super careful too trusting and a little too relaxed.'
Jenson's suitcase was loaded into the front seat of the chauffeur's car, but as he briefly turned his back to Brittny's carry-on the brazen criminal ran off into the busy station with sentimental items she hoped to one day pass on to her daughter.
'He had his back on mine, and a guy just came and swooped it. We didn't even see him do it,' she added: 'So they were probably watching us.
'We had no idea until Jenson went, "Wait where is your bag" and he raced off trying to find it, but he [the thief] was already gone.'
The interior designer burst into tears following the 'traumatising' ordeal which cast a dark cloud over their getaway, as she quickly headed back to the airport to return to their home in California.
'I just started crying, I was a little upset with Jensen because I felt like he kind of dropped the ball a little but its not his fault someone was watching us,' she said: 'He also did get his bag stolen a few months ago in a car park in London.
'It definitely was shocking that I just didn't think. 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.'
Brittny has since praised the British Transport Police for their quick action, adding the thief was brought to justice when plain clothes officers arrested the assailant after CCTV was circulated to local teams.
Mourad Aid, 41, pleaded guilty to theft at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 February 2025, five days after the incident and has been remanded in custody for sentencing.
But the mother-of-two will likely never retrieve her stolen items, which where listed online only days after the incident, serving another blow following the California wildfires that threatened their home alongside countless others earlier this year.
Recalling the heartbreaking moment, when she saw the bags she had worked hard to earn listed online, she said: 'Unfortunately, I saw the shady looking photos of these guys holding my bags on their lap.
'[And] I knew I was probably never getting them back, and who knows how many hands it had touched - at that point I was not really interested. I wasn't going to send anyone to meet with these people.
'I knew they were mine, because one of the Kelly bags was missing a strap, which I had left it in LA.'
She added: 'A lot of people assume, "Your husband bought you those" but actually I bought about half of them and I worked really hard and to have someone come up to me and take them from me - it's just frustrating.
'And I know people are going to say, first world problems, but whether you're getting robbed of something that's not worth a lot of value. If it's sentimental, its sentimental.
'My dad was a police officer, so I was raised not to steal from people. I would rather have less and feel good about myself than steal from people and take what isn't mine.'
The interior designer also told how she hoped to pass on the valuable bags onto her daughter, and that she also considered them to be a long-term investment for her children.
'A lot of people assume, 'Your husband bought you those', but actually I bought about half of them and I worked really hard and to have someone come up to me and take them from me - it's just frustrating,' Brittny said (pictured in 2018)
'I was planning to pass down to my daughter. It's just crazy,' she revealed: '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.'
Above all else, the ordeal has marred her view of the UK, as she revealed London 'doesn't feel the same' as when she started dating the Forumla One driver 10 years ago.
'I've heard countless stories,' she said: 'When we first started dating we would go to London, and it was such like a nice place to be, and now it just feels very kind of dark and scary.
'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.'
Combined with the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, Brittny said the couple's year 'was not of to the best start'.
'I'm just grateful that it wasn't a violent robbery, you know,' she added: 'I feel like I have gotten justice because he will have to pay for what he did, in Los Angeles there is a lot of catch and then release.'
British Transport Police said: 'A 41 year old man pleaded guilty to theft at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 February 2025, following an incident on 13 February.
'BTP received a report from the victim that she had arrived at St Pancras on the Eurostar with her husband around 12.30pm, and began loading a car on Pancras Road with their luggage.
'As the victim's husband turned to load her suitcase into the car, they realised it had been gone. Neither of them saw it being taken and reported it to a BTP officer at the station.
'The case contained several designer bags and jewellery including bracelets and rings of sentimental value, with the overall value estimated at in excess of £250,000.
'Detectives from BTP viewed CCTV and identified a man walking into the station with the victim's case at around 12.35am and was seen walking back out of the station via the Midland Road exit.
'CCTV images were circulated among local BTP teams and one officer recognised the man in the CCTV to be Mourad Aid. He was then arrested by plain clothes officers in the Hatton Garden area on 17 February.
'Aid has now been remanded in custody until sentencing.'
British Transport Police Detective Sergeant Marc Farmer said: 'This was a brazen and opportunistic theft by a man who took advantage of the victim and her husband having their backs turned for a matter of seconds while loading up their car with luggage.
'He was able to quickly swipe the suitcase without them even noticing, which hammers home just how sneaky these sorts of criminals really are and why it's so important to keep one eye on your belongings at all times.
'While the incident wasn't captured on CCTV, we were still able to trace Aid through other investigative opportunities, and he was arrested by our plain clothes officers just days later.
'Anyone who witnesses or is a victim of theft on the railway network is able to text us for free on 61016.'