The former Atomic Kitten star reduced her £417,000 tax bill to £82,000 but HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) insisted today on pressing ahead with the bankruptcy petition first issued in January.

Mr Registrar Nicholls agreed to make the order after giving 27-year-old Katona a final hour to come up with the balance.

Luke Harris, representing Katona who was not in court, asked the registrar to put the matter back, saying funds were available but cheques had not been cleared.

Mr Harris said as soon as the money was ready, it would be brought to the court and given to Mike Thomas, the lawyer representing HMRC.

But just before 1pm today, the registrar called the parties back into the court and Mr Harris said he was "not in a position to assist further".

Two weeks ago Katona was given until today to find the sum by Mr Registrar Nicholls in a case that had been before the court four times.