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Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is court over a series of allegations against his father-in-law, who he says tried to hack his email accounts.
On Friday, a court in London heard Chris Hutcheson (68) had searched through Ramsay’s emails and company computer systems in a bid to find something he could use against the star, the Daily Mail reports.
It’s claimed Hutcheson was motivated over bitter feelings towards Ramsay after being sacked from the chef’s company where he’d been formerly employed as chief executive.
The court also heard Hutcheson suspected Ramsay (50) of leaking a photo of his mistress Sarah Stewart, and may have been rifling through his data searching for evidence.
Chris Hutcheson. Photo: Getty Images.
Hutcheson appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, along with his children Adam (46), daughter Orlanda Butland (45) and their step-brother Chris Hutcheson Jr, (37).
The group all face charges of conspiring to access Ramsay’s data.
It’s alleged the hackings took place between October 2010 and March 2011, after Hutcheson was sacked from Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd.
Hutcheson, who lives in Druillat, France, was charged by police after lengthy investigations by detectives at Scotland Yard as part of Operation Tuletta.
Ramsay and Hutcheson were once understood to have been very close, with the chef going as far to say him and his father-in-law were inseparable.
The pair was before the courts in 2012 after Ramsey accused Hutcheson of borrowing 1.5 million ($2.65m) from Ramsay’s company, which he headed up.
The ugly court battle saw Hutcheson brand Ramsay a fame-obsessed “monster”. Ramsay responded calling him a “dictator” and accusing Hutcheson of stealing the money to fund his serial womanising.
Revelations of the scandal would later see Ramsay’s wife Tana sever ties with her family.
Chris Hutcheson has been remanded on bail and is scheduled to appear before the court again next week.
