Pro-Remain lawyer Jolyon Maugham sued over alleged '£500,000 unpaid bill' for windmill restoration

A campaigning barrister is being sued for almost £500,000 in unpaid bills by builders renovating his iconic windmill home, amid claims he caused delays to the project over where to put light switches, a court has heard.

Jolyon Maugham QC, best known for leading the legal challenge against Brexit, gained notoriety last year after revealing he had clubbed a fox to death in his garden, while wearing his wife’s kimono, because it was reportedly trying to eat his chickens.

Now he is being sued by a building firm who say he still owes them around half a million pounds for turning the iconic Grade-II listed Jack Windmill, in the South Downs near Brighton, into an award-winning luxury home for him and his family.

The pro-Remain lawyer has previously represented clients who claim to have not been paid fairly, including an intern who filed a lawsuit against magazine and digital radio station Monocle in 2018.

The builders, EA Chiverton Ltd, of Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, Hants, were hired in 2013 to turn the "uninhabitable" listed mill and outbuildings into a family home.

The five-storey tower corn mill, built in 1866, is also available as a holiday let, at the cost of £1,500 per night during peak times, according to its website.

EA Chiverton Ltd signed a contract to carry out the works for a price of £1,127,996.87, following designs drawn up by top architect Sarah Featherstone, of Featherstone Young, with an agreed completion date of 24 November 2015.

The house design won two RIBA awards in 2017 and was lauded as "an example of progressive conservation, inventive re-use and adaptation of existing fabric."

But the works overran with delays lasting around nine months until they were completed, for which the builders and the QC each deny blame, according to documents put before London's High Court.

Mr Maugham has already paid the builders over £1.1m but they say he still owes them another £487,317.57.

That sum includes a claim for £163,872.98 in "loss and expense" the builders say they incurred due to delays in completing the project which were not their fault.

Work was delayed because Mr Maugham, or his architects acting on his behalf, repeatedly changed their minds about the internal layout, including the positioning of light switches, sockets and fire alarms, the builders claim.

They are also demanding around another £320,000 for extra works they say they were instructed to carry out on top of the works agreed when the contract was initially signed.

Mr Maugham claims the builders have been paid fairly and is refusing to pay them any additional funds. His lawyers also claim he is entitled to damages from the builders in relation to the delays.

The case is due for trial at the High Court at a date not yet set.