[1][2] Born in 1959 at Macclesfield, Cheshire, the only daughter of wine critic Michael Broadbent, she grew up in London and was educated at the French Lycée.

[11][12] As Chief Magistrate, Lady Arbuthnot made rulings related to the fugitive Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya,[13] and Zamira Hajiyeva, the first person subject to an unexplained wealth order (UWO).

[14] Towards the end of 2019, Arbuthnot, who had presided at several of Julian Assange's extradition hearings,[15][16] stepped aside because of a "perception of bias", apparently linked to her husband.

SC Strategy Ltd is a private intelligence company which has worked for the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the main investors in a $1.2bn financing arrangement for Uber.

[18][19] In August 2019 Arbuthnot cleared a man accused of filming a Grenfell Tower effigy being burned at a bonfire night party, whilst a group of friends laughed and joked.