paid

The Home Office "cut corners" and made "a series of poor decisions", whilst under pressure to stop migrants being housed in hotels, when it paid £15m for an asbestos-contaminated derelict prison, the government's spending watchdog has said.

The final price paid for the site was £15.4m, including £0.9m paid to the vendors - Brockwell Group Bexhill LLP - because the Home Office had underestimated how long it would take to complete the purchase.

Mr McGregor was also asked if he had paid Mr Lawrence's legal fees.

But a further $25m, due in August if alternative investment could not be found, has not been paid.

That tactic has paid off in a number of surprising places, including the supreme courts of Oklahoma and North Dakota.