UK

Katie Price to attend ‘private interview’ over finances as hearing adjourned

The former glamour model was due to face questions in a court in London on Tuesday.

Katie Price had been due to face questions in court
Katie Price had been due to face questions in court (Aaron Chown/PA)

The latest hearing related to Katie Price’s bankruptcies has been adjourned so she can attend a “private interview” over her finances.

The former glamour model was due to face questions from barristers in a specialist bankruptcy court on Tuesday in a hearing known as a public examination.

But a judge adjourned the hearing after the 46-year-old’s lawyers asked for her to attend a “private interview” with barristers representing the trustee of her bankruptcies.

As she left the courtroom in the Rolls Building in London, Price told journalists sitting in the public gallery: “I hope you reporters write a good story today, won’t you, all the bullshit that you write, scumbags.”

During the hearing, Bertie Beor-Roberts, for Price, said: “We are asking the court to adjourn the examination generally.”

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He continued: “The general purpose is to permit Ms Price to attend a private interview with the trustee and then to continue to engage constructively.”

He added: “Ms Price is keen on co-operating but it’s not going to be the best answer that she can give today. There is a limit to the amount she can give.”

Mr Beor-Roberts earlier told the court that Price “accepts that things have not gone as smooth as they might have done to date” but that the case was “very complex”.

He added that her “mental wellbeing and privacy” could be impacted by a public hearing, and that her health conditions “would be exacerbated by public examination of her financial affairs”.

He argued that Price would be “able to give more answers in (a) private interview where there was no pressure from the media”, adding that there was a “real interest in Price giving that evidence which would be more helpful to the trustee and provide a resolution”.

Price’s former husband Alex Reid attended the hearing in London
Price’s former husband Alex Reid attended the hearing in London (Aaron Chown/PA)

Darragh Connell, representing the trustee, said it was “appropriate” to adjourn the hearing “on the basis that Price will attend that private interview”, adding that Price had instructed a barrister “less than 24 hours” before the hearing.

He said: “There has been an element of cooperation throughout proceedings. Since the arrest warrant, there has been more compliance.”

Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs agreed to the adjournment and asked Price whether she would give an undertaking to the court that she would attend the private interview on September 24.

He said that if a further hearing was needed, it would be held on February 11 2025.

He told Price: “It is important that the administration of justice is maintained, so if you fail to comply with the undertaking you will be at risk of being arrested.”

When asked whether she would give the undertaking, Price replied: “I do.”

Dressed in all black and accompanied by another woman, she did not answer questions from reporters as she left in a black cab after the hearing.

Katie Price was initially declared bankrupt in 2019
Katie Price was initially declared bankrupt in 2019 (Aaron Chown/PA)

Price was first declared bankrupt in 2019, and in February this year was ordered to pay 40% of her monthly income from the adult entertainment website OnlyFans until February 2027 to help pay off her debts.

She was then declared bankrupt for a second time in March over an unpaid tax bill worth more than £750,000.

Price was arrested at Heathrow Airport earlier this month after an arrest warrant was issued in July for failing to attend a previous court date.

She was warned by a judge on August 9 to attend Tuesday’s hearing with “no ifs, no buts”, or face arrest again.

Her ex-husband, Alex Reid, was also in attendance at the hearing.