A British former MP left bankrupt and publicly disgraced just three years ago has recouped much of his riches by exploiting his notoriety in the world of show business, a report said on Friday.
Neil Hamilton, who was left with debts of £3-million in mid-2001, has now bought a million-pound manor house, the Daily Telegraph said.
The former Conservative Party lawmaker was left ruined after losing a 1999 lawsuit filed against a tycoon who had accused him of accepting money to ask specific questions in the House of Commons.
Apart from the vast cost, the long court battle left Hamilton very publicly labelled a liar and a lawmaker who exploited his position for cash.
He also suffered the humiliation of losing his parliamentary seat in the 1997 general election, shortly after the scandal first surfaced, to a novice politician standing on an anti-corruption ticket.
Faced by such a reverse, many people would have slipped into welcome obscurity, but Hamilton — aided by his formidable wife, Christine — embraced any money-making opportunity, no matter how humiliating.
The pair trawled around television chat shows discussing their plight, and showed up at any public event that would pay them to attend, all the while embracing their burgeoning cult status as figures of fun.
Neil Hamilton also appeared on the stage as part of a pantomime horse — the rear end — and was pictured on the cover of GQ magazine’s British edition, clad only in a fig leaf.
His wife, meanwhile, capitalised on her bossy, tough image by writing the Bumper Book of British Battleaxes, a swiftly compiled tome listing formidable women through history.
Neil Hamilton confirmed to the Telegraph that the couple are in the process of buying the rambling home, Bradfield Manor in Wiltshire, south-west England, calling it ”an interesting old house”.
However, he added: ”We can’t afford the sort of place we’d have liked.” — Sapa-AFP