David Irving
comments: NOT only do I have friends
in the United States --
thousands of them at this very
moment (though I am not
"living with" them; merely
writing in my usual habitat,
where Hemingway and other
writers found the Muse did not
desert them either).
I also have
a final card up my sleeve,
which my London lawyers will
be playing within the next ten
days. |
Irving's
home is repossessed as libel debts
mount
By Jessica Berry and Chris
Hastings
DAVID Irving, the
disgraced historian who was bankrupted
after being branded a Holocaust denier
in a failed libel action, has had his
home repossessed and his personal
possessions seized.
The historian's Mayfair flat, which
is believed to be worth around
£750,000, was seized by his bank
two weeks ago while he was in the
United States because of mounting
mortgage arrears. It has now been put
up for sale.
In a separate move, bailiffs acting
for the libel case victors, who are
owed almost £2.5 million in costs,
have also seized Mr Irving's personal
belongings from the flat, including
furniture, computer disks and research
papers.
Mr Irving has been in dire financial
straits since he lost his high-profile
libel
action against Professor Deborah
Lipstadt, an American academic who
said he denied the Holocaust in her
1994 book Denying the Holocaust: The
Growing Assault on Truth and
Memory.
Mr Irving claimed that Professor
Lipstadt's description of him as a man
prepared to bend historical evidence,
"until it conforms with his ideological
leanings and political agenda", was
damaging to his career. He sued the
American academic and Penguin, her
publisher.
However, Mr Justice Gray
ruled
that Irving was "an active Holocaust
denier, anti-Semitic and racist" who
had "distorted historical data to suit
his own ideological agenda." He ordered
the author to meet the entire costs of
the case - some £2.5 million.
In
March, the historian was declared
bankrupt after he failed to make a
£100,000 downpayment towards the
costs.
The decision by Bradford and Bingley
to repossess the house related to
arrears on the mortgage. The Telegraph
has learned, however, that Baker Tilly,
the accountancy firm which is acting on
behalf of Professor Lipstadt and her
publishers, will seek to claim any
equity that has been realised in the
property.
The firm instructed bailiffs to
seize the contents of the flat on
hearing it was up for sale. It is
hoping to sell Mr Irving's possessions
at auction.
Mr Irving, who is staying with
friends in America, said that he had
known repossession was a possibility
but had hoped to challenge any such
move.
He told The Telegraph: "I am
still coming to terms with losing the
house which was my home for 34 years. I
had hoped to hold on to it and did not
think they would seek possession while
I was out of the country. The bailiffs
have also removed my personal
belongings, including papers, computers
and books. It's having a serious impact
on my ability to work and it has
severely disrupted my operations in the
UK."
Professor Lipstadt last night told
The Telegraph she took no
pleasure in the news that Mr Irving had
lost his home. She said: "This is not
something I can gloat about. It is
Penguin who are pushing for the money,
not myself. I can understand their
reasons. They feel that if they don't
recover the money they are owed on this
case than they would open themselves up
to all sorts of similar actions.
"The case brought by Mr Irving and
the subsequent appeal has cost me more
than £1 million. I doubt whether I
will ever get any of that money
back."
Lord Janner, the chairman of
the Holocaust
Education Trust, said: "I am
pleased that justice has caught up with
him. He deserves everything he
gets."
write to David
Irving