An unpaid tax bill could lead to the bankruptcy of a Tory MP, opening up possibilities for another by-election in his place if he has to quit.
Court documents show that HMRC has filed for bankruptcy against Adam Afriyie in a dispute over his ‘past business interests’.
According to parliamentary rules, any member declared bankrupt by the Parliament must resign.
Adam Afriyie, 56, will need to step down from his seat as MP of Windsor if he’s declared bankrupt
He was raised on south London’s council estate and became an entrepreneur.
But his IT firm went into insolvency in 2017 apparently due to a £1.7million tax debt.
Already, the Tories face three by-elections. One for Shropshire North’s Owen Paterson seat. Paterson was forced to quit due to an investigation into lobbying.
‘The petition arises for complex reasons related to Adam’s past business interests,’ his spokesman told The Guardian.
Court documents show that HMRC has filed for bankruptcy against Adam Afriyie in a dispute over his ‘past business interests’
‘Negotiations have been ongoing for several years and the petition is subject to legal challenge as his advisers are working towards reaching an agreement.’
Mr Afriyie said: ‘I will of course pay any tax that is due.’
Connect Support Services, a multi-million-pound IT business founded in 1993 by Mr Afriyie.
But the firm went into insolvency in 2017 – due to mounting up in debt with HMRC and becoming the main cause of Mr Afriyie’s bankruptcy case.
This comes as Mr Paterson, 65, resigned his North Shropshire seat following a backlash over the Tories’ plan to override the standards committee’s initial findings in Mr Paterson’s lobbying scandal.