Double speeding fines for millionaire couple

Monday, March 01, 2010, 10:00

A MILLIONAIRE entrepreneur and his interior designer wife have clocked up a fine of more than £1,000 and 12 licence points between them for failing to identify which one of them was driving their speeding Land Rover.
Jetsetters Ian and Jayne Oliphant-Thompson accepted that one of them was behind the wheel when their vehicle was caught travelling at 40mph in a 30mph zone in March last year.

If either one had taken responsibility, they would have been fined £60 and three points on the licence.
Instead, Mrs Oliphant-Thompson told police it was "erroneous and immoral" to continue asking who was driving when they said they could not remember. As a result, magistrates ruled that each of them had to pay £640 in fines, court costs and a victim surcharge – and gave each six points on their licence.

The couple, both 43, live in a large gated property in a well-heeled area of Exton, near Exeter. They were tried in their absence at Exeter Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Mr Oliphant-Thompson is an entrepreneur whose hobbies include flying helicopters and fast jets, and who once described himself as "the most impatient man on Earth". A feature about his acumen in the Times in 2002, which quoted his services as costing £5,000 per day, raved: "His philosophy is to move quickly and get instant results."

The report said his business, the New Futures Group, swiftly turned around the fortunes of the businesses he worked with, including Gap, Virgin and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

He told the Times of his boundless energy: "My staff are all highly skilled and experts in their fields but I know that they find me difficult to keep up with."

His wife is an international stylist who opened the lifestyles and interior shop Jotty's in Topsham and Budleigh Salterton, and travels the UK styling rooms for major exhibition organisers.

She also writes living-style articles, designs houses for photo-shoots and furnishes show homes. Her list of clients has included the Daily Mail and the Richard & Judy Show.

The couple's vehicle, registered to Mrs Oliphant-Thompson but also driven by her husband, was caught speeding in Exeter Road, Exmouth, in March last year.

Despite several letters from the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership asking who was driving the vehicle at the time, the pair could not answer and claimed that they had both driven the Land Rover that day.
The decision was made to proceed with the case in their absence after they failed to contact the court with a reason for not attending.

Magistrates were told that Mrs Oliphant-Thompson was first sent details of the offence on Friday, March 20 last year.

She wrote back a month later to say: "It might have been me or might have been my husband.
"We both drive the vehicle and were both driving it on that day."

Her husband gave the same reply when he was contacted and the couple asked for copies of photographs to be sent, but they proved inconclusive to who was behind the wheel.

In another letter to the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership, Mrs Oliphant-Thompson wrote: "We know the driver was one of the two of us although we genuinely cannot make any positive ID. To continue to ask us is erroneous and immoral."

After several more letters and no progress, the decision was made to charge them both.

Prosecuting Philip Alcock said: "We cannot be sure who was driving and they have not been able to assist.
"The answer they gave is not uncommon but the owners of a vehicle that is used by many drivers need to have some kind of a log. Even a married couple, if they habitually use the vehicle and swap around driving responsibilities, they need to have something in place to ensure they know who was driving. They have to satisfy and explain why they are not able to, but they are not here to do that."

A separate speeding charge for both defendants in relation to the incident was withdrawn.