Lady Clementine Medina Marks, 53, like her husband, a qualified barrister now has three speeding convictions and 11 penalty points on her license - one point short of an automatic six-month ban.
The mother-of-five was today fined a total of £1,250 for two speeding offences in her black three-litre diesel Mercedes and received a total of eight penalty points.
“Having looked at all the circumstances the bench are minded not to disqualify today and will be putting points on the defendant’s license,” announced the magistrate Vanessa Weguelin.
“We have taken into account your guilty plea to both of these matters.
“You have a flagrant disregard for obeying speed limits and that’s totally unacceptable and we take a very serious view of it.
“You need to be extremely careful about your driving, red lights, speeding, especially in Central London, where there are many 20mph zones.
“We take this very, very seriously.”
Lady Marks must also pay £100 costs and a £125 victim surcharge. “Your lawyer said you have substantial savings.”
She has two addresses on the court record, a £3.5m apartment in Sloane Street, Belgravia, plus a £4.3m flat in Queens Gate Gardens, South Kensington.
The couple also own an £8m eighteenth century mansion in Binfield Heath, near Henley-on-Thames and five years ago were involved in a planning battle with South Oxfordshire District Council to build another huge property on their estate.
“Don’t tell me she hasn’t got any money. She lives in Queens Gate Gardens and she’s got a house in Oxfordshire,” Ms Weguelin told her lawyer.
Regarding her income Lady Marks had told the court via her lawyer, Julian Hunt: “We spend everything we have,” admitting the couple have “several thousands” in savings.
Lady Marks, who appeared in court wearing black trousers and a burgundy cardigan caught speeding at 84mph in a 60mph zone, forty-two minutes after midnight in the early hours of June 18, 2019 on the M4 motorway near Heston Services, Brentford.
She was also caught speeding at 58mph in a 50mph zone on November 18, 2019 along the southbound carriageway of the A34 in Wytham, Oxfordshire.
Asking not to impose a lengthy ban Mr. Hunt told the magistrates: “This married lady lives in rural Oxfordshire with her husband and she has five children and there is little public transport.”
He asked for a short ban, submitting anything longer would effect her ability to run her busy household and visit her father, 90, who lives near Athens.
The court heard her youngest child, aged fifteen, attends boarding school and the rest of her children, aged 24, 22, 21,19 are in full-time education with the only one who can drive, a daughter, away at medical school.
“These matters have been adjourned for some time and this lady’s had this hanging over her mind for over a year now,” added the lawyer.
“Her husband is a lawyer himself and he has not been well. In 2019 he had a pulmonary embolism and was in hospital for a week.
“She does everything basically in running the family house.
“Her father lives near Athens and she visits him regularly. There is very little public transport out there and as he needs a UK license to drive out there and manage his carers.”
Her father recently suffered heart failure and needed a hip replacement after falling and suffering a fracture.
“This a very isolated family in Oxfordshire and there are no staff in the house,” added Mr. Hunt. “This is a family that have high expenses at the moment and are managing, just.”
The magistrate added: “It’s important you contact your insurance company to inform them you now have eleven points.”
Lady Marks’ husband, Jonathan Clive Marks, 68, Baron Marks of Henley-on-Thames is a former barrister and life peer in the House of Lords.
The Harrow and Oxford-educated QC was a committee man with the Liberal Democrats, having failed to win a seat as an MP and MEP.
He was Chair of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association from 2001 to 2007 and following his peerage became the party’s Shadow Justice Secretary.
Lady Clementine - known socially as Medina Marks - holds a company directorships with Westness 1000 Ltd. and Garsington Opera Enterprises.
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