Baker Tilly will this week apply to the High Court to seek directions on how Jonathan Aitken's assets should be treated, and to end its ongoing battle with the disgraced minister by securing repayment of his £2.2m debts.

The emergency meeting has been fixed following the highly publicised attempts by the former MP's powerful friends to prevent the accountancy firm selling Aitken's books and papers and securing rights to his £24,000 annual pension.

Baker Tilly and its solicitors Stephenson Harwood will be heard before Mr Justice Rattee and it is hoped this will end speculation about what can be treated as an asset.

Buchler Phillips managing partner Simon Freakley said: 'Applying to the court for directions is a last resort but it is a routine procedure when a firm appointed by the court in the first place gets stuck.'

Under current bankruptcy law, creditors are allowed to seize all assets other than books, means of transport, basic domestic items and things that are identified to be tools of the bankrupt's trade.

Aitken is fighting to keep his books by claiming that he needs them for his work, although the value of his archive make it unlikely that he will be allowed to keep the original copies, which under law can be replaced with cheaper versions.