A thief who stole a suitcase containing £250,000 worth of luxury and designer possessions from Formula One driver Jenson Button’s wife has been jailed for three years and four months. Algerian national Mourad Aid, 41, was caught on CCTV snatching Brittny Button’s suitcase as a chauffeur helped the couple unload their luggage onto the pavement outside St Pancras station in February. The migrant had planned to target affluent tourists at one of London’s busiest stations, the court heard, and struck gold when he grabbed the bag – which contained antique jewellery and two handbags worth around £70,000.
Aid was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to the theft. The 41-year-old, of Greatorex Street in Tower Hamlets, was also found to have been living in Britain illegally and will be deported after serving his sentence. The couple had been stopping in London on their way back from a Valentine’s Day getaway to Paris, and the stolen items – including heirlooms Ms Button had wanted to pass on to her children – have not been recovered.
The incident – which followed separate charges against Aid relating to the theft of a bag from James Humphrey Adams in November 2024 – led the Formula One driver’s wife to declare that she had “no interest” in returning to the UK because of how “unsecure and unsafe” it is.
“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,” she told MailOnline.
In a victim statement read out in court, the former Playboy model said the theft had “stripped away her sense of safety, security and peace of mind”.
Aid reportedly came to the UK on a six-month tourist visa in 2019 but stayed in the country illegally after it had expired.
He had been on bail for the luggage theft in November at the time of the offence and an additional four months was added to his sentence in relation to the first crime.
British Transport Police arrested the Algerian migrant four days after the suitcase theft, on February 17.
Investigating officer DC Michael Taylor said: “Aid acted brazenly and opportunistically to steal a suitcase from complete strangers, causing them considerable anxiety and worry over their belongings, so I am very happy with the result in this case.”
“I want to thank all of the officers involved for their hard work which saw us identify, arrest and charge Aid at a rapid pace,” he added. “We take every report of crime extremely seriously, and I would like to remind the public that they can report crimes or concerns on the railway by texting 61016.”