Lawyers target Porter assets

Lawyers have today begun the long battle to recover the frozen assets of disgraced former council leader Dame Shirley Porter.

Westminster City Council achieved a breakthrough this week when its legal team traced about £30million belonging to its former Conservative leader. The council has now told them to start trying to claw back the cash, but says it could be a "long and expensive process".

Dame Shirley, 72, owes Westminster £37 million after being surcharged for wilful misconduct by presiding over the sale of council homes on the cheap to Tory voters in the Eighties. She lives in Israel and has claimed to be worth only £300,000.

Westminster obtained disclosure orders against 14 companies and individuals from courts in England, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands.