Friend of the Queen stole £1.6 million

An alleged thief walked out of court a free man today despite stealing £1.6 million.

Sixty-five-year-old Hon Jonathan Davies, an investment banker, had stolen the sum from the charity founded by his own grandfather.

The court heard that the aristocrat had used the large amount of money on golf trips, fine wine and expensive gifts, and also paid off his credit card bills as well as his daughter’s school fees.

The father-of-six is also alleged to have given £1 million to his inventor friend, Joe Dawson, for the development of a new spark plug.

Because the Eton and Oxford educated man is now bankrupt, the charity folded and may not reclaim any amount from him.

The charity, the Dinam Trust, looked after orphans of the Bosnian war amongst other activities. It was founded in 1926 by Davies’ grandfather, the Baron of Llandinam David Davies, who used funds from his mining and shipping ventures to finance the organisation.

Present at Southwark crown court, Davies admitted to the 10 counts of theft which happened between July 1999 and June 2000.

This particular court case only dealt with £232,000 although investigators said he had spent a total of £1,656,143.

Davies received a two-year suspended sentence stemming from his poor health.

Davies’ legal representative David Huw Williams QC said the investment banker declared bankruptcy in 2003.

Davies is in poor health because of heart problems, which have nagged him for the past 10 years. Apparently, he now lives with his wife Veronica with modest means in a small Balham flat.

A clerk to the Privy Council Davies, husband to the late Sir William Godfrey Agnew’s the daughter and a friend of the Queen, Davies stole from the non-profit organisation which provided financial assistance to research into conflicts around the world, as well as health and animal charities.

Davies exhausted the funds when he took over the secretary position at the trust in 1995. As secretary, he was allowed to write cheques to himself. Police were called in when the trust fund’s debts jumped from £20,000 to £1.5million.