Aitken to go free but Baker Tilly fights on.

Bankrupt former Tory MP Jonathan Aitken is to be released from Standford Jail in Kent on 7 January, according to sources close to the disgraced former minister. The news, which was revealed exclusively on the AccountancyAge.com website on Monday, means Aitken will have served less than half of his 18-month jail sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He is due to be released under home detention curfew, which will follow a five-day break during which he will be allowed home for Christmas. His release will once again thrust into the spotlight the efforts of accountancy firm Baker Tilly, acting on behalf of Aitken’s creditors, to secure repayment of his £2.2m debts. The firm has recently instructed counsel to start proceedings on a claim over his government pension. A second previously undisclosed pension, which is a legacy of the financial services company he helped set up in 1981, could also become a target for Baker Tilly. ‘This is a substantial sum of money, but he will not give it up without a fight,’ according to a source. A Home Office spokesman confirmed Aitken would be eligible for parole in early January but warned that unforeseen events could happen to jeopardise his release.