Mystery of Dame Shirley's finances

Westminster council will press ahead with chasing Dame Shirley Porter for more than £26 million of homes-for-votes cash - despite claims she can no longer pay the bill.

The council's former leader, once thought to be worth around £70million, now has only a few hundred thousand pounds of assets, a newspaper said today.

According to the Daily Mirror, it means Westminster's lawyers have little chance of getting back the money they are owed following last month's reimposition of the £26.4 million surcharge against her by the House of Lords.

A spokesman for Tory-run Westminster council refused to comment on the Mirror report, but said its stance on the money had not changed. "We are still pressing for the amount the Law Lords determined was due, £26.4 million plus interest at normal rates," he added.

The council's opposition dismissed the claims as "rumour-mongering" put about by Dame Shirley's camp.

Labour councillor Murad Qureshi said: "I think this is just spin. It is very surprising that she is pleading poverty now when she has never done so in the past. If she really has very little money, how has she afforded to fight the matter over so many years in court?"

Dame Shirley now lives in Israel. Her office today refused to comment on whether it agreed with the Mirror's account of her wealth.