Former intern fights boss for half his £1m company

AN antiques dealer to the stars is locked in a bitter court fight with a former intern who says she has a right to half of his £1million firm.

- Richard Gittins

Christopher Howe has boasted distinguished clients including Hollywood star Richard Gere, the late artist Lucian Freud and Hampton Court Palace.

The business, which split into two companies in 2014, is at the centre of a court fight over ownership between Mr Howe, 63, and Joanne Brierley, a family friend and former intern who began working for him unpaid as a student in 2008 and become his right-hand woman.