Thurrock Council is suing Liam Kavanagh, 47, at the High Court over allegations of ‘fraud’ following a multimillion investment in solar farms which ended in disaster for the Essex council.

The huge losses were incurred when Kavanagh’s business, Rockfire Capital went bust in August 2020 with debts of £171m owed solely to Thurrock Council according to the  last statement of affairs by Begbies Traynor.

Thurrock Council was forced to file a section 114 notice in December 2022 and reported a provisional deficit of £452m on a £153m budget for 2023/24.

The Conservative council is now suing Kavanagh personally according to High Court records after it was found he was buying luxury items such as a Bugatti, a yacht, a private jet and a Hublot watch, while inflating the value of his solar farms.