Judge censures son who used vulnerable mother's money to buy own house

An education consultant has been censured by a judge who concluded that he had misused tens of thousands of pounds of his elderly mother's money.

Judge Denzil Lush was told that the pensioner, who is in her 80s and lives in a nursing home, had given her son, who is in his 50s, control over her funds.

But he heard that the man had spent more than £3,000 of his mother's money on lawyers after being "caught" drink-driving, spent more than £7,000 on his son's college fees and more than £170,000 buying a property in his own name.

Judge Lush revoked a "power of attorney" the man had been given by his mother after concluding that there had been misappropriation of the pensioner's funds.

The man said he had "borrowed" money and would repay what he owed.

But Judge Lush said he had "no confidence" in what the man had said.

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling by the judge following a private hearing in the Court of Protection - where issues relating to sick and vulnerable people are analysed - in London.

Judge Lush said officials at the Office of the Public Guardian - an official body set up to protect people who may not have the mental capacity to make decisions about issues including health and finance - had raised concerns

He said the pensioner at the centre of the case, who had lived in Hertfordshire, could not be identified.