Maxwell's pounds 406m is bankruptcy record

KEVIN MAXWELL yesterday became Britain's biggest bankrupt. The pounds 406.5m High Court bankruptcy order far exceeds the previous highest - pounds 118m against William Stern, the property developer, in 1974, writes Roger Trapp.

Mr Maxwell said outside the court that he stood there with 'a degree of humility'. He added: 'Bankruptcy is a very public humbling.'

The order was sought by the liquidators of Bishopsgate Investment Management, the Maxwell company that managed hundreds of millions of pounds of missing pension fund money. In July a summary judgment for his alleged breach of duty as a director of Bishopsgate ordered him to pay pounds 406.5m in damages for the benefit of the Maxwell pensioners.

In the coming months, Mr Maxwell will miss many things he has taken for granted. He will be unable to obtain more than pounds 250 of credit without disclosing his bankruptcy. Nor may he be involved in the setting up or running of a company without the court's permission.

(Photograph omitted)