Gordon Ramsay's father-in-law has admitted conspiring to hack into the computer systems of businesses run by the celebrity chef.

Christopher Hutcheson, 68, and his sons Adam, 46, and Christopher, 37, all admitted conspiracy to unlawfully access Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited's computer systems at a hearing in London's Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, the BBC reports. Christopher Hutcheson Snr's daughter, Orlanda Butland, 45, denied the same charge. The prosecution subsequently dropped its prosecution against her, leading Judge Gerald Gordon to record a not guilty verdict.

Hutcheson Snr, father of Ramsay's wife, Tana, and his sons were both charged under Operation Tuleta, a computer hacking-orientated investigation launched by the Met Police in the wake of the 2011 celebrity phone hacking scandal.

Hutcheson Snr, of Earlsfield, south west London, Hutcheson Jnr, of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and Adam Hutcheson, of Sevenoaks, Kent, were all released on bail pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for 2 June.

The Michelin-star awarded TV cook fired his father-in-law in 2010 from a senior role managing his restaurant business in acrimonious circumstances. Prosecutors alleged in court that the hack was motivated by an attempt to discover whether Ramsay had been circulating a picture of Hutcheson Snr's alleged mistress, Sara Stewart, a former employee, the Daily Telegraph reports. The offences took place between October 2010 and March 2011. ®