She claims she is a victim of misrepresentation and is demanding damages or her money back

She claims she is a victim of misrepresentation and is demanding damages or her money back. Lord Cholmondeley and Christie’s are both vigorously defending the claim. Christie’s lawyers insist the urns were made in the 18th century, during or shortly after the reign of Louis XV, and that they were “accurately and properly described” in the catalogue. Lord Cholmondeley, director of the 1999 movie Other Voices, Other Rooms and whose fortune is said to be worth more than £100m, sold the gilt and marble vases eight years ago to Ms Thomson when she outbid Ann Getty, a relation of the billionaire Getty family.In the auction catalogue the urns were described as “a pair of Louis XV porphyry and gilt-bronze two-handled vases designed by Ennemond- Alexandre Petitot”.But now Ms Thomson, a collector of “museum-quality” art works, is alleging they were nothing of the kind. And yesterday a judge cleared the way for the allegations to be publicly aired in the High Court in London next year.Ms Thomson, a well-known art collector, claims that the two gilded vases she bought are not antiques from the period of Louis XV but instead were made early in the 19th century.She is suing both Lord Cholmondeley, 42, the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Queen’s representative in the House of Lords, and Christie’s which arranged the auction of the vases.

One of Britain’s most famous aristocratic families is being sued by the daughter of a former owner of The Times over an alleged misrepresentation of the provenance of two bronze urns worth £1.75m. “Hardy is a manipulative, evil individual and, as the judge said, a badly depraved character.” The schizophrenia charity Sane said questions would be raised concerning the decision to release Hardy from psychiatric hospital.. Richard Horwell, for the prosecution, said: “Sadly the stories of the last few months of each victim are depressingly similar. “She [Miss Valad], like Miss White, had become a crack addict and was financing that habit through street prostitution as was the third victim, Brigette MacClennan.”Detective Chief Inspector Ken Bell said outside court that the murder inquiry had been a “particularly harrowing” case. The prostitute, who had once been a high-class call-girl who dressed in designer outfits and drove a £50,000 sports car, had become a crack addict and resorted to street walking.

Miss MacClennan, who had two children, was last seen near Hardy’s flat on Christmas Day. One photograph showed Miss Valad’s head covered with a devil’s mask. Police realised that Miss White had not died of natural causes and charged Hardy with the murder of all three women.The times of the women’s deaths could not be pinpointed. Mobile phone records showed that Miss Valad had last used her phone on 19 December. Police found scores of photographs of Miss Valad’s and Miss MacClennan’s bodies in different poses on Hardy’s bed. In an industrial bin near by were two arms, a left leg and a lower torso, the remains of Miss Valad and Miss MacClennan. Police went to Hardy’s flat in Royal College Street on New Year’s Eve and found the front door ajar The light was on but the flat empty There was a smell coming from behind the door Miss Valad’s torso was inside.