Katona made bankrupt over tax bill

12:09am Friday 22nd August 2008

Kerry Katona lost a race against time over a tax bill and was made bankrupt at a High Court hearing.

The former Atomic Kitten star reduced her £417,000 tax bill to £82,000 but HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) insisted on pressing ahead with the bankruptcy petition first issued in January.

Mr Registrar Nicholls agreed to make the order after giving 27-year-old Katona a final hour to come up with the balance.

Luke Harris, representing Katona who was not in court, asked the registrar to put the matter back, saying funds were available but cheques had not been cleared.

Mr Harris said as soon as the money was ready, it would be brought to the court and given to Mike Thomas, the lawyer representing HMRC.

But the registrar called the parties back into the court and Mr Harris said he was "not in a position to assist further".