Katie Price: Warrant issued for arrest of former model

An arrest warrant has been issued for Katie Price, after she failed to attend a court hearing relating to her bankruptcies.

Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Catherine Burton said Ms Price had received “very clear warnings” that she must attend the hearing on Tuesday.

The former glamour model had not responded to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over her debts, a court heard.

The demand for payment was made by HMRC last October.

A judge at a previous hearing said the former glamour model risked arrest if she did not attend further court dates, adding that evidence must be provided if she could not appear.

Issuing the arrest warrant on Tuesday, Judge Burton said Ms Price had “failed to attend today’s hearing” and had provided no explanation for her absence.

“It is in my judgment necessary that the court issue a warrant for Ms Price’s arrest.

“She has no real excuse in failing to attend today’s hearing,” she said.

“The reason for her absence today is irrelevant.”

The court heard that it had been reported that Ms Price had travelled to Turkey, with a now-deleted Instagram story showing what appeared to be her eating a crisp sandwich on a flight.

Judge Burton said that an arrest warrant was not issued “lightly” but that Ms Price had offered only “piecemeal co-operation” and she had failed to provide the “most basic information” in relation to her bankruptcies.

Price first declared bankruptcy in 2019 over unpaid debts, then again last March over an unpaid tax bill of £761,994.05.

In February, Price was ordered to forfeit 40% of her income from the adult entertainment website OnlyFans for the next three years as part of a separate dispute over unpaid debts.

In October last year, Ms Price said she was “fed up” with being threatened with legal action and would go to prison to be “done with it all”.

She was due to face questions on Tuesday related to her finances at a hearing, with barrister Darragh Connell telling the court in written submissions that there “remains significant information missing as regards the bankrupt’s income and asset position”.

The hearing was also due to hear an application by the trustee related to Ms Price’s vehicles.

Mr Connell told the court the trustee does not “have any information as to her whereabouts”.

He continued that Ms Price had indicated she would deliver some of her vehicles to the trustee as she worked to pay off the balance of her bankruptcies, including her “pink Range Rover which has borne a personalised registration plate with [the] initials of the bankrupt”.

But the court was told this had not happened, with Mr Connell stating it was “plain” that the vehicles “will not be delivered up by the bankrupt”.

He said Ms Price “would not be kept in custody for a long period of time”, but would be detained to secure her attendance at a future hearing.

He said: “Her liberty is on the line, but unfortunately we are at the end of the road in relation to this matter.”

Mr Connell said in written arguments that the application for Ms Price to attend was first issued in January 2020, but had been “adjourned on numerous occasions”.

He continued that Ms Price had not asked to attend Tuesday’s hearing remotely and had not asked for it to be adjourned.