A CONSERVATIVE MP has vowed to stay in his job despite being declared bankrupt over debts owed to the taxman and a major bank worth around £1.7 million.
Judge Nicholas Briggs made a bankruptcy order against Adam Afriyie, who represents Windsor, at an online hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday.
The judge was told Afriyie owed about £1m to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and about £700,000 to Barclays.
Afriyie, who says he will stand down at the next election, said after the hearing that proceedings had started after business failures,
“This has been ongoing for many years following business failures some time ago,” he said in a statement to the PA news agency.
“I am ultimately responsible for some of the bank borrowing through personal guarantee.
“I’ve been trying to sell our home and downsize for some time, but it’s a tough market.
“It is a stressful time and it’ll be tough for a while, but I’m far from the only person in a difficult position, and I will continue to do my best to support my constituents until the next general election, when I’ll be standing down.”
In May, another judge approved a plan for Afriyie to sell a property.
The Tory MP, who did not attend Tuesday’s hearing, had written asking for more time to sell the property.
He wanted proceedings adjourned until March and said he could pay off his debts in full if the property was sold.
Representatives of HMRC and Barclays had given the judge detail of how much was owed and opposed an adjournment.
Judge Briggs concluded: “There have been six hearings already of this matter so time really has run out.
“I shall make a bankruptcy order.
“It seems to me there is no evidence of there being any reasonable prospects of paying debts in full.”
Barrister Fiona Whiteside, who represented Barclays, said the bank had “lost patience”, and added: “We have seen no credible evidence that the property will be sold any time soon.”
Afriyie, who is aged in his 50s, was elected in 2005.
He announced earlier in the year he would not stand at the next General Election.
A biography on his website says: “Adam is known for his thoughtfulness, honesty and plain-speaking style.
“Born in 1965 to a white English mother and a black Ghanaian father, Adam was brought up by his mother in social housing in south London.
“He attended Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Peckham and went on to gain a BSc in agricultural economics from Imperial College (Wye).”
News of the bankruptcy proceedings emerged in late 2019.
A 2003 briefing paper from the House of Commons Library says MPs who become bankrupt are, under certain circumstances, unable to sit and vote in Parliament.
The paper says “bankrupts may not be elected to Parliament”.
