Sex Pistols tattooist's death triggers inheritance row over ‘secret' daughter

Telegraph

14-05-2025

Cockell, who was originally from Worcester, rose to prominence in the 1980s tattooing musicians such as Jones and members of Stray Cats and Bananarama at his London studios in Finchley Road and later Soho's Diamond Jack's.
As his tattoo career came to an end, he took on another role as an 'odd-job man at Buckingham Palace' and was paid £14,500 a year for his efforts towards the upkeep of the Royal estate, a court heard.
He married his wife in 1982 and they lived in a £900,000 house in Mill Hill, north London.
His wife was unaware of his child from a previous relationship, Cindylee Cockell, who filed a claim for 'reasonable provision' from his estate after his death.
'Overwhelming grief'
Giving evidence via a videolink from Sydney, Cindylee Cockell claimed she needed a payout because the 'overwhelming grief' of her father's death had left her so depressed and anxious she was unable to work.
She told the judge that she had been two years old when she learned that Cockell was her father.
She said she had visited him in London four times before his death and claimed he promised her a £23,000-a-year receptionist job in one of his tattoo parlours.
The court heard she was now on 'Australian Jobseekers Allowance' having been signed off by her doctor as incapable of working for 'years' due to severe 'anxiety and depression' following the death of her father, and her mother a few months later.
She told the court: 'The death of my father and mother had a devastating effect on my day to day life.
'I have anxiety and depression which have been exacerbated by overwhelming grief.'
'Never been financially dependent'
Cockell's widow is fighting the claim and says she could be forced to sell her home if she is ordered to make the payout her late husband's daughter wants.
Her barrister Nicholas Michael denied that Cindylee Cockell was incapable of work and insisted the estate owes her nothing.
He said: 'Cindylee was estranged from the deceased until she was eight.
'After that she only met him on a few sporadic occasions and she has never been financially dependent on the deceased.'
He called for the claim to be dismissed.
Judge Deputy Master Timothy Bowles is expected to reserve his decision in the case until a later date.