Election Section

Son of Britain’s top judicial officer guilty

By Chelsea J. Carter
Friday October 25, 2002

NEWPORT BEACH — The son of Britain’s top judicial officer was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in state prison after pleading guilty to stalking the boyfriend of a woman he met in a tanning salon. 

In a negotiated plea, Alastair Irvine, 25, pleaded guilty to one felony count each of stalking, burglary and vandalism, two felony counts of making criminal threats and one misdemeanor count of having a concealed weapon. 

Irvine is the son of Lord Chancellor Alexander “Derry” Irvine, head of Britain’s judiciary and a senior member of the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

Authorities said Alastair Irvine became infatuated with the 19-year-old woman, telephoning and showing up at the salon, even though she repeatedly told him she wasn’t interested and had a boyfriend. Irvine threatened the boyfriend and threw acid on his truck in June, causing $5,700 in damage, prosecutors said. 

In England, where the case has received widespread publicity, the lord chancellor’s office has confirmed media reports that the younger Irvine underwent treatment in the United States for drug addiction.