Thief jailed for stealing Jenson Button's wife's £250,000 jewellery and handbag collection
31 May 2025, 07:55
A thief who pillaged £250,000 worth of jewellery and handbags from Jenson Button's model wife as she travelled through one of London's busiest train stations has been jailed.
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The former Formula One driver's wife previously revealed how the thief took the suitcase containing the collection of jewellery and handbags from outside St Pancras station.
Mourad Aid, 41, was found to have targeted the couple as they returned on the Eurostar from a romantic trip to Paris, with the thief striking as Button helped a chauffeur load their luggage into the vehicle.
The court heard how the opportunist thief hoped to target tourists at the popular travel hub, with CCTV footage capturing the suspected snatching the bag containing two Kelly bags, totalling around £70,000 in value, as well as antique jewellery
Aid was then seen to disappear into the crowd.
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Appearing at Inner London Crown Court on Friday, Aid was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to the crime.
Aid, of Greatorex Street, Tower Hamlets, was found to have been living in the country illegally.
He is now due to be deported after serving part of his sentence.
The theft, which took place in February, followed separate charges against him linked to a similar bag snatch on James Humphrey Evans, which took place on November 24, 2024.
The crime led Brittny Button to voice that she thinks London is ‘unsecure’ and ‘chaotic’ after she was targeted while coming back from a romantic getaway in Paris.
The suitcase stolen in the incident contained more than £250,000 worth of items, with plain clothes officers arresting the thief after CCTV footage was circulated to teams in and around St Pancras station.
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Mourad Aid, 41, pleaded guilty to theft at Westminster Magistrates Court on February 19, five days after the incident. He has been remanded in custody for sentencing.
Brittny now says she has ‘no interest’ in ever returning to the UK because of how ‘unsafe’ it is.
She said: "I was kind of shocked. How like unsecure everything felt [in London] just so many people, [and] so chaotic."
She told MailOnline: “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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Mother-of-two Brittny will likely never retrieve her stolen items, which where listed online only days after the incident.
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.”
