Shaffer's secret mistress defeated

The secret mistress of playwright Anthony Shaffer has failed in her High Court bid for the right to claim part of his estate.

Shaffer, whose work includes the hit play and film Sleuth, died three years ago in London after a " peripatetic" life travelling the world, the court heard. He was 75.

He had started a sexual affair with Jo Minutolo in 1998 but after an "emotional" five-day trial, Mr Justice Lewison ruled he died " domiciled" in Queensland, Australia - meaning his estate will not have to pay British death duties. The decision also means Ms Minutolo will not be able to claim from his estate in an English court.

Shaffer's wife, actress Diane Cilento, his ex-wife, Carolyn, and daughters Claudia and Cressida, will inherit his estate free of tax under Australian law. By the time he died, the judge said, Shaffer had only a "bachelor pad" in London and that it was his estate in Queensland, shared with his wife Diane Cilento, that he viewed as his home.

The ruling entails a substantial loss for the Inland Revenue and means that Miss Munitolo will not be able to make a claim from his estate under the terms of the Inheritance Act. Shaffer's celebrated brother, Sir Peter, had taken a "neutral" stance in the dispute as executor of the estate.