A Tory MP has vowed to stay until the next election - despite being declared bankrupt over £1.7million of debt.
Adam Afriyie owed about £1million to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and about £700,000 to Barclays, the Insolvency and Companies Court heard today.
Judge Nicholas Briggs made a bankruptcy order against the MP, who has represented safe seat Windsor since 2005.
He said: “There have been six hearings already of this matter so time really has run out… It seems to me there is no evidence of there being any reasonable prospects of paying debts in full."
Once regarded as a Tory rising star, Mr Afriyie’s office previously confirmed he had been embroiled in a dispute for several years over his "past business interests”.
Commons rules used to say if an MP was declared bankrupt, they could not sit or vote in Parliament and could lose their seat entirely after six months. However, this rule appears to have been axed by a 2002 law.
Bankrupt MPs are now only disqualified in more serious cases, if a bankruptcy restrictions order is made.
And following the case Mr Afriyie, 57, vowed to stay in Parliament for up to two years before standing down at the next election.
He said after the court's decision: “This has been ongoing for many years following business failures some time ago. 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."
News of the bankruptcy proceedings emerged in late 2019.
In May, a judge approved a plan for Mr Afriyie to sell a property. Mr Afriyie, who did not attend the latest 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.
But 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."
A biography on the MP’s 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)."
It comes after the Sunday Mirror revealed in 2019 that Mr Afriyie's £4.5million mansion was being rented out for £1,950 a night on Airbnb.
Parliament's rules require MPs to declare property worth more than £100,000 or rental income of more than £10,000 a year.
At the time he said: “There’s no requirement to declare my private homes in the register of members interests, because I have never claimed Parliamentary expenses for them nor received rental income from them.”
He said that he would ask Parliament’s registrar for advice and update the register if he had made any mistakes.
Mr Afriyie then updated the register of interests in January 2020 to include an entry for "occasional income derived from short lets of my Windsor home and from using the grounds for events".
He said the income was paid to a family member.
