A Conservative MP facing bankruptcy proceedings following action by the HM Revenue & Customs has been more time to raise money by a judge.
The case of Adam Afriyie, the Tory MP Windsor, was heard in the specialist Insolvency and Companies Court after the HMRC filed a bankruptcy petition against him.
Judge Sally Barber approved a plan to give the MP more time to sell his “main private residence” to help pay his debts, saying the case would be reviewed in three months.
The judge was told that the property set to be sold Mr Afriyie had a mortgage of about £3m.
Details of the amount Mr Afriyie is said to owe to the HMRC and others did not emerge. The court heard that there were a number of creditors, but that the main creditor was the tax authority.
News of possible bankruptcy proceedings involving Mr Afriyie first emerged in late 2019. In November last year it emerged that HMRC has filed a petition for bankruptcy against him in a dispute related to “past business interests”.
The backbencher said in November that he was challenging the HMRC’s petition and hoped the matter could still be resolved without bankruptcy.
Mr Afriyie, who has held his seat since 2005, said: “I will of course pay any tax that is due.”
The MP set up the IT firm Connect Support Services in 1993. But the firm went into insolvency in 2017 – having reportedly substantial mounted up debts with HMRC.
Connect Support Services is a creditor in Mr Afriyie’s bankruptcy case, according to The Guardian, which first reported on the HMRC’s petition last year.
Any MP with a bankrupt restriction order must step aside under parliamentary rules – sparking speculation that Mr Afriyie may have to step aside in his Windsor seat.
Earlier this year the Lib Dems announced Julian Tisi as the party’s parliamentary candidate to contest Mr Afriyie seat in preparation for any potential by-election.
But Mr Afriyie insisted he would fight the next contest: “Let me be clear. There is not going to be a by-election in Windsor before the next general election,” he said in January.
The MP, who is in his 50s, did not appear at Tuesday’s hearing, but the judge heard from a lawyer representing him.
A background section 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.”
