Not a penny more, newspaper tycoon tells former wife

A millionaire whose ex-wife was awarded half his fortune in a landmark ruling for homemakers has defiantly told her she will "never get a penny".

Harry Lambert, who made his millions from the Adscene free newspaper chain, has "disappeared from view" to Thailand, a court was told yesterday.

On 14 November, his former wife, Shan Lambert, won a legal battle for half of the £20m he made during their 23-year marriage. Lord Justice Thorpe ruled in the Court of Appeal: "There must be an end to the sterile assertion that the breadwinner's contribution weighs heavier than the homemaker's."

The decision – the first time a wife was awarded half the family wealth by Court of Appeal judges – was seen as a victory for non-working wives.

But Nicholas Mostyn QC, representing Mrs Lambert, said yesterday that his client had received a telephone call from her former partner, insisting: "You will never get a penny of this [extra money]." The QC, who was appearing at proceedings to decide who pays the estimated £1m costs of the case, said Mr Lambert, 58, had rid himself of most of his liquid assets in this country and was now abroad.

Martin Pointer QC, representing the millionaire – who once described his wife's contribution to their marriage as "revolving around children and a microwave" – conceded his client was now in Thailand. He had not been able to obtain any instructions from him as to how he intended to meet the extra lump sum payment to his wife, the barrister added.

Lord Justice Thorpe said: "We don't want to raise the temperature of his case. Has he not got liquid assets in this country?" Mr Mostyn replied: "No", adding that Mr Pointer had admitted that his client "had disappeared from view and no instructions were available".

Since the couple's original divorce settlement in November 2001, Mr Lambert, who had £3.7m in cash and £2m in stocks and shares, had made his assets "substantially less liquid than they were", the QC added.

Mr Pointer told Lords Justices Thorpe and May and Mr Justice Brody that Mr Lambert had few liquid assets in this country and would have to sell properties in the south of France and Monaco to settle with his former wife.

The appeal judges ordered that Mr Lambert should pay the costs of the case and refused permission to take his case to the House of Lords.

Mrs Lambert, 50, was awarded one of the highest divorce settlements in British legal history when she took her case to the Court of Appeal last month.

In November 2001, a High Court judge had ordered that she should have the marital home, Ringleton Manor, near Sandwich, Kent, worth nearly £2m, with assets valued at £2.8m and a lump sum of £3,152,732. The Court of Appealincreased the lump sum to £5,751,474, agreeing she was entitled to a half share of her husband's wealth.

Mr Lambert, who left his wife in 1997 for Patrizia Morelli, the wife of a friend, has now split from her. He set up home in Bangkok with a 26-year-old Thai singer called Umaporn Junsera. He says their relationship is platonic.