Judge rules against woman in Hamilton case

A High Court judge today continued an order freezing the assets of the woman who accused former Tory minister Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine of sexual assault.

The couple were at the High Court in London to hear the result of the first courtroom skirmish in the libel action they have launched against Nadine Milroy-Sloan.

Mr Justice Aikens, following a two-hour hearing yesterday, ruled that it was "just and convenient" for the freezing order to continue as there was, in his view, a risk that money obtained by Ms Milroy-Sloan in the future could be "unjustifiably dissipated" in the absence of such an order.

However, he said the order did not cover her personal payment of £22,500 for an interview with the News of the World as long as it was used for the purpose of setting up a fund for her children's education.

In giving his ruling the judge said the facts of the case as they appeared from the evidence were "striking, even bizarre".

Ms Milroy-Sloan's lawyers had urged him to discharge the order.

Today's ruling relates to an order previously granted to the Hamiltons allowing the freezing of Ms Milroy-Sloan's assets up to the value of £400,000 until a court has had the opportunity to decide whether libel damages should be paid to the couple.

Police announced on Tuesday that there would be no further action against the couple who were accused by Ms Milroy-Sloan, 28, of sexually assaulting her while another man allegedly raped her in a flat in Ilford, Essex, on May 5.

Legal experts said that if bankrupt Mr Hamilton were to win libel damages, the money would go to Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, to whom he still owes more than £1 million from the "cash-for-questions" court case.