EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Dunhill heir Piers Dunhill-Turner in bitter High Court battle with his old chum
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Dunhill heir Piers Dunhill-Turner in bitter High Court battle with his old chum Charles Karsten
Playground-type abuse’ allegedly dished out by an heir to the Dunhill luxury goods empire has escalated into a court battle with one of his oldest friends.
Piers Dunhill-Turner, great-great-grandson of Sir Alfred Dunhill, is accused of launching a bitter campaign against his former business partner Charles Karsten, a judge’s son.
According to a High Court claim, Dunhill-Turner, 29, waged online war by creating websites which falsely accuse Karsten.
Karsten, 30, is suing his former friend for harassment, demanding the online publications are closed, and seeking £20,000 compensation.
Dunhill-Turner is, however, counter-suing with similar allegations. He has ‘denied any involvement’ with the defamatory websites.
The unseemly debacle is certainly a long way from the dawn of the Dunhill dynasty in 1904.
Sir Alfred jump-started the family fortune by patenting a special pipe shielded against the wind to make smoking possible for early motorists as they raced along at 4mph.
Dunhill-Turner is described as an entrepreneur and investor. He has enjoyed a relationship with Made In Chelsea star Tabitha Willett.
But his decision in 2021 to form a consultancy for wealthy investors with Karsten ended a friendship they forged as teenagers.
High Court papers filed by lawyers for Charles, son of former judge Ian Karsten, claim that within a few months they had fallen out.
Karsten’s lawyers say: ‘The collective objective of the websites is the unlawful harassment of the claimant.’
They add that, in August, Karsten was sent, via WhatsApp, offers to take the websites down, in return for cash.
The messages were sent from a phone registered in Pakistan. With the websites still live, Karsten now feels ‘helpless and humiliated’.
Dunhill-Turner’s solicitor Thomas Clark tells me: ‘Our client categorically denies all allegations and will be filing a defence and counterclaim with the court imminently.’
ED MILIBAND, who learned to ride a bike aged 50, pedalled into trouble during the State visit of the Korean president last week.
A passer-by claims the former Labour leader failed to dismount near Buckingham Palace.
‘The police were marshalling crowds along The Mall,’ the onlooker tells me. ‘Miliband wobbled and a female police officer shouted at him.’
Love blossoms for Napoleon’s Josephine
Has Vanessa Kirby found her Napoleon? The British actress, 35, who plays Josephine (inset below) opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Sir Ridley Scott’s latest film, Napoleon, has ‘gone public’ with her boyfriend, the American lacrosse player Paul Rabil, 37.
He shared a series of snaps of the couple including one of them embracing on a beach.
‘From the very minute we first met in Des Moines, around the world and back, life is far better, more purposeful and more beautiful with you,’ he wrote about the privately educated Londoner.
The pair have been spotted on several occasions together since last year, but have kept their blossoming romance under wraps.
Rabil is co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League. Kirby won a Bafta for her role as Princess Margaret in Netflix hit The Crown.
Britain’s premier baronet, Sir Edward Dashwood, may be living up to his name.
The 59-year-old is facing a driving ban after allegedly being caught speeding in his Toyota Land Cruiser at Penryn in Cornwall in January.
Cornwall magistrates court have adjourned the case at the request of the defence as the JPs are considering imposing a driving disqualification.
Sir Edward, whose kinsman founded the notorious Hellfire Club, will be expected to appear before the court in Bodmin in March to discover his fate.
His ancestral home of West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, has been the backdrop to countless films, including The Music Lovers.
Pacino lover hit 30 with sheer chic
Al Pacino’s young girlfriend Noor Alfallah clearly has much to celebrate.
At the Sony film producer’s 30th birthday party at the weekend, she had a lavish three-tiered cake.
Alfallah wore a see-through black dress for the bash, at Formoso Cafe Chinese restaurant in Hollywood.
She has a five-month-old boy, Roman, with the Oscar-winner, 83, pictured inset with Noor.
Pacino was recently ordered to pay her £24,000 a month in child support.
It’s not clear why she chose to go to court, as the couple are still reportedly going out together.
The Scarface star will also give Alfallah 6 per cent of his gross annual income, which is in excess of £2 million.
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