Battle of Brittain and Christine

In one of her more daring stunts, Christine has accepted the Insolvency Lawyer's Association invitation to speak at their dinner in York next July, beating her attempts to clear London buses on a spacehopper with her husband on her back.

The evening promises to be an interesting one, as Baker Tilly's no-nonsense IP Louise Brittain, who happens to be Neil's trustee, has also accepted the ILA's invitation to be at that dinner.

Practitioners have said the ILA's choice of after dinner speaker is 'quite interesting' and are expecting sparks to fly once the ladies get together.

Brittain and Christine have been at odds ever since Neil was made bankrupt two years ago. The former MP's wife did not hide her disdain for her husband's trustee, referring to Colin Haig, the head of business recovery at Baker Tilly as an 'odious little man' in Louis Theroux?s TV documentary about the couple.

Insiders say she has battled Brittain every step of the way, claiming, for instance, their Cheshire home was in her name and therefore not part of Neil's assets.