The multi-millionaire son of Dame Vivienne Westwood has won a court battle against a young mother on Universal Credit who has failed to pay her rent.
Rebecca Shortt says she will be under “major financial stress” and that there is “no prospect” of paying Joseph Corré nearly £5,000 after being told to cough up the money.
The young mother had failed to pay the rent on the cattle ranch she owns between Bude and Morwenstow in North Cornwall for six months from April to September.
The 31-year-old, who has since relocated to Mid-Cornwall, was brought before Bodmin County Court by the son of fashion designer Dame Vivienne and Sex Pistols manager Malcom McLaren, who insisted the money was not at stake.
She told Assistant District Judge Inglis that she was refusing to pay because a water leak meant there wasn’t enough water in the fields she used for her dairy cows and the farm was “unsustainable.”
Rebecca Shortt, 31, was unable to pay rent at the cattle station between Bude and Morwenstow in North Cornwall for six months from April to September
Dame Vivienne Westwood’s multi-millionaire son, Joseph Corré, insisted the lawsuit against the young mother was not about money but about “integrity”.
However, Mr Corré said that was not true because on the property except for a stream or two ran alongside the fields, there was a water source and access to a borehole and Ms Shortt also had access to a water cannon.
Following Thursday’s hearing, Ms Shortt was ordered to pay £2,324 in unpaid rent and a further £2,000 in unpaid farm repair costs, as well as Mr Corré’s £551 legal fees.
“I don’t have any money.” I can’t pay it because I have Universal Credit. “I have absolutely no prospect of paying for it,” she said.
The start-up farmer said it would “take me a big financial risk”.
“It’s going to be a huge financial drain on me,” she said. “I have nothing to sell.” He [Mr Corré] claims to be humanitarian and environmentally conscious and to have campaigned for the release of Julian Assange. Active in human rights campaigns, he has nevertheless decided to take a young mother trying to manage wildlife to court for less than £5,000.”
She added: “I’m just glad my baby is doing well and that I can continue my work to improve cow welfare and promote sustainable farming.” Thankfully, in the UK right now, it doesn’t cost anything to have a good conscience .”
The mother argued that the gates and fences were “rotten to begin with” and that repairing them would improve Mr Corré’s property rather than just repairing it.
Ms Shortt, originally from Penge, south London, signed a lease with Mr Corré in 2019 with the idea of cultivating the land sustainably.
Dame Vivienne spoke in 2016 in support of her son who had just burned his £5million collection of punk memorabilia. She died in 2022 at the age of 81
A second lease was signed in 2021 when her personal circumstances changed.
Ms Shortt discovered there was a problem when a huge water bill landed on her doorstep, she reported CornwallLive. She told the court that the water leak was on the property of the farm that Mr Corré used for his personal use.
She expected Mr Corré to fix the problem after telling her to turn off the taps until the leak could be found.
She said, “The fields kept getting switched because of some idea of rewilding.” [Mr Corré] had.
“I would not have agreed to pay that rent if I had known there was a water problem.” I left because of that and his aggressive bullying behavior and constant harassment.
“He scolded me because the noise of milking my cows disturbed his peace.” He threatened about all sorts of things.’
But Mr Corré denied any threats and said he was frustrated when Ms Shortt’s animals escaped, including cows that ran onto the nearby A39 and a flock of chickens pooping outside a holiday home he owns.
He said, “She couldn’t control her animals.” She had no farming experience and was struggling.
Mr. Corré with his then-wife Serena Rees. The couple co-founded sexy lingerie company Agent Provocateur in 1994. The couple split in 2007 when wife Rees left him for former Clash bassist Paul Simonon
“She has tried different forms of farming, but she has not succeeded, and it is not true that her bullying and aggressiveness are accused.” I never threatened her with eviction. I told her it didn’t work out between us. But she acted dishonestly.’
He told the court he now has a new tenant and there have been “no problems with the water” and denied the situation had ever been desperate.
Judge Inglis ruled in favor of Mr Corré, saying access to water was not a requirement of the lease.
It was also said that leaks and repairs to fences and gates were to be borne by the tenant.
“It is not the job of this court to judge the fairness of the proceeding, only its legality,” Judge Inglis said. “Even if it seems one-sided.”
The activist and businessman bought the land in North Cornwall 15 years ago because “Cornwall is his favorite place”.
He insisted the lawsuit against the young mother was not about money.
“It’s all a matter of principle,” he said. “I don’t care about the money.” I gave someone a chance to do something and they acted dishonorably. It’s about integrity.’
Mr. Corré founded the sexy lingerie company Agent Provocateur in 1994 with his then-wife Serena Rees. The couple split in 2007 when wife Rees left him for former Clash bassist Paul Simonon.
Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and Dame Vivienne. They married in 1967 and divorced 13 years later. Malcolm died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 64
That same year, after their divorce, they sold an 80 per cent stake in the company to 3i Private Equity for £60m.
In 2017, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley bought the upscale lingerie brand for £25million, in what Mr Corré called “a disgrace to British business” and “absurd”.
In 2007, Mr Corré turned down an MBE that had been awarded to him for services to the fashion industry in the Queen’s Birthday honors list after he claimed then Prime Minister Tony Blair was “morally corrupt”.
“I was chosen by an organization run by a Prime Minister whom I find morally corrupt and who has been involved in organized lies that have caused thousands of people, including children, to suffer death, imprisonment and torture in Afghanistan and Iraq .”
In 2016 he burned all of his £5million punk memorabilia, including personal belongings from his father and vintage clothing designed by his mother.
When asked why he did that, Mr Corré added that “punk is dead” before saying that the genre has “lost all its bite”.
Speaking at Bloomsbury House in London, he said: ‘Punk has been neutered and neutered by the corporate sector and by the state.’ Hung, pulled and quartered.’
Dame Vivienne died peacefully in December 2022 at the age of 81 surrounded by her family in Clapham, south London.
