Wife's ?48m divorce settlement upheld by court

A multi-millionaire businessman has lost his battle to prevent his ex-wife from being awarded a £48 million financial settlement.

John Charman, head of Axa Insurance, separated from his former spouse Beverly in 2003 and when they divorced in 2005 she was awarded half of the couple's family assets.

Mr Charman disputed the sum, arguing that Ms Charman should have accepted his offer of £20 million. Moreover, he feels that when their fortune was assessed the court should not have taken into account a £70 million trust fund that he had set up for the couple's two children.

However, his appeal against the decision made by the High Court's Family Division was rejected yesterday (May 24th). He was not at the hearing, but he released a statement following the verdict in which he called the British legal system "a mess".

"It is muddled, incomprehensible and lags behind that in most other countries. It's now all something of a lottery and has little to do with fairness or justice. I am just the latest high earner to be penalised by this flawed system," he said.

Ms Charman's financial settlement is the highest to be awarded in British legal history.

Her case was handled by the same lawyer who is working with Heather Mills as she negotiates her divorce settlement with Paul McCartney.